MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading Down 2.8% – Here’s Why

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) shares fell 2.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $35.54 and last traded at $35.54. 2,994,698 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 34% from the average session volume of 4,564,647 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.56.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on MP. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on MP Materials from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on MP Materials from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on MP Materials from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley raised MP Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $23.00 to $34.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on MP Materials from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MP Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.06.

MP Materials Trading Down 1.9%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $25.02 and a 200 day moving average of $23.15. The company has a current ratio of 4.12, a quick ratio of 3.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $5.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -55.20 and a beta of 2.14.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $60.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.74 million. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 48.41% and a negative return on equity of 9.77%. MP Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 24.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.04) EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at MP Materials

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 18,519 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total value of $500,013.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,842,256 shares in the company, valued at $373,740,912. This trade represents a 0.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JT Stratford LLC boosted its holdings in MP Materials by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 63,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $993,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in MP Materials by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,793 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,000 after buying an additional 479 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in MP Materials by 16.5% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in MP Materials by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its holdings in MP Materials by 20.6% during the first quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 3,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 678 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

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.