Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Holdings in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 35.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 604,892 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 159,200 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in MP Materials were worth $10,676,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of MP Materials by 136.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in MP Materials by 3,803.8% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 3,956 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in MP Materials by 817.5% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,661 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 3,262 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in MP Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $72,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $100,000. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MP. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on MP Materials from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of MP Materials from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of MP Materials from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of MP Materials from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Four equities 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.40.

MP Materials Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of MP Materials stock opened at $18.28 on Monday. MP Materials Corp. has a 12-month low of $10.02 and a 12-month high of $20.85. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.29. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.85 and a beta of 2.23.

MP Materials declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, September 3rd that permits the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 13.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.