JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Price Target to $60.00

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) had its target price reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $75.00 to $60.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on MP. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of MP Materials from $70.00 to $71.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of MP Materials from $69.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on MP Materials from $70.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on MP Materials from $81.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.21.

MP Materials Stock Performance

Shares of MP stock opened at $41.35 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 7.18 and a quick ratio of 6.58. MP Materials has a fifty-two week low of $37.81 and a fifty-two week high of $100.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $54.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.20. The firm has a market cap of $7.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -98.46 and a beta of 1.86.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.04. The business had revenue of $90.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.82 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 2.27% and a negative net margin of 28.00%.The firm’s revenue was up 49.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.12) EPS. Analysts predict that MP Materials will post 0.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 234,651 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.87, for a total value of $15,456,461.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,855,965 shares in the company, valued at $780,952,414.55. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal bought 17,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $56.62 per share, with a total value of $962,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 1,333,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,512,565.26. The trade was a 1.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 905,167 shares of company stock worth $60,161,837. 8.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MP. EMC Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new position in MP Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in MP Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Consulate Inc. boosted its holdings in MP Materials by 555.3% in the 4th quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. now owns 557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in MP Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About MP Materials

MP Materials Corporation operates as a vertically integrated producer of rare earth materials in North America. The company owns and manages the Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine and Processing Facility in California, the only commercially viable rare earth mining and processing site in the United States. MP Materials extracts, separates and refines critical rare earth elements—such as neodymium, praseodymium, and cerium—which are essential inputs for permanent magnets used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, and various defense applications.

The Mountain Pass mine first began commercial rare earth production in the 1950s and was later operated by Molycorp until its bankruptcy in 2015.