MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $23.99, but opened at $26.00. MP Materials shares last traded at $23.70, with a volume of 966,341 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of MP Materials from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of MP Materials from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MP Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.61.

MP Materials Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $24.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a PE ratio of -37.90 and a beta of 2.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 6.93 and a quick ratio of 6.13.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $60.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $50.71 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 8.44% and a negative net margin of 32.09%. Sell-side analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at MP Materials

In other news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.51, for a total value of $1,530,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 230,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,869,851. The trade was a 20.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 18,519 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total transaction of $500,013.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,842,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $373,740,912. This trade represents a 0.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,130,835 shares of company stock valued at $29,165,987 over the last three months. Company insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in MP Materials by 40.3% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in MP Materials by 205.4% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,849 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of MP Materials by 204.7% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 69.3% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 1,545 shares during the period. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MP Materials Company Profile

MP Materials Corp., together with its subsidiaries, produces rare earth materials. The company owns and operates the Mountain Pass Rare Earth mine and processing facility in North America. It holds the mineral rights to the Mountain Pass mine and surrounding areas, as well as intellectual property rights related to the processing and development of rare earth minerals.