MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading 8.5% Higher – What’s Next?

Shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) shot up 8.5% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $28.29 and last traded at $27.87. 3,068,069 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 24% from the average session volume of 4,033,649 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.70.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. DA Davidson raised their price objective on MP Materials from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on MP Materials from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley upgraded MP Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $23.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on MP Materials from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Three research 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 an average price target of $25.61.

MP Materials Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a PE ratio of -47.82 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a quick ratio of 6.13, a current ratio of 6.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.24.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.02). MP Materials had a negative net margin of 32.09% and a negative return on equity of 8.44%. The company had revenue of $60.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.74 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.04) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 24.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 489,918 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total value of $13,115,104.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 15,153,158 shares in the company, valued at $405,650,039.66. The trade was a 3.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 15,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total value of $405,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 214,812 shares in the company, valued at $5,799,924. This represents a 6.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 943,792 shares of company stock valued at $25,286,567 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. KBC Group NV raised its stake in MP Materials by 33.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 1,564 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $228,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of MP Materials by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 99,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,558,000 after buying an additional 6,800 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of MP Materials by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 899,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,035,000 after buying an additional 294,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $159,000. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.