MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $23.18, but opened at $24.57. MP Materials shares last traded at $24.28, with a volume of 630,204 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on MP. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on MP Materials from $19.50 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on MP Materials from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.45.

MP Materials Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 6.93, a quick ratio of 6.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.04 and a beta of 2.34. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $20.35 and a 200-day moving average of $17.84.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $60.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $50.71 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 6.78% and a negative net margin of 32.24%. On average, equities research analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at MP Materials

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 300,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.22, for a total transaction of $6,066,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 18,043,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $364,830,996.72. This represents a 1.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 35,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.50, for a total transaction of $752,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 260,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,590,451.50. The trade was a 11.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 955,890 shares of company stock valued at $20,944,628. 12.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

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

About MP Materials

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.