MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading Up 6.7% – Still a Buy?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) shares were up 6.7% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $55.67 and last traded at $54.52. Approximately 10,514,171 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 57% from the average session volume of 6,686,793 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.11.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on MP Materials from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 target price on MP Materials in a report on Friday, May 8th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $69.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MP Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $78.21.

MP Materials Stock Up 6.7%

The company has a market capitalization of $9.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -160.35 and a beta of 1.88. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 9.51 and a quick ratio of 8.56.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $108.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $96.89 million. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 19.85% and a negative return on equity of 1.21%. MP Materials’s revenue was up 89.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.13) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post 0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal bought 10,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $54.30 per share, with a total value of $543,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer directly owned 136,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,418,574.60. This trade represents a 7.90% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 185,167 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.14, for a total value of $12,802,446.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,620,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $803,461,973.72. This represents a 1.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 885,167 shares of company stock worth $58,661,837. 8.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EMC Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in MP Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in MP Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.