MP Materials’ (MP) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at DA Davidson

MP Materials (NYSE:MP)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by equities researchers at DA Davidson in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $82.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 40.86% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently commented on MP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of MP Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Friday, November 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $77.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley raised MP Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $68.50 to $71.00 in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday, November 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $78.91.

MP Materials Trading Up 2.2%

MP stock traded up $1.26 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $58.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,607,948 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,223,316. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 7.51 and a current ratio of 8.05. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.85. MP Materials has a 1 year low of $18.64 and a 1 year high of $100.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -82.03 and a beta of 1.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 385,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.94, for a total value of $24,231,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 13,105,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $824,889,437.10. The trade was a 2.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $2,288,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 156,666 shares in the company, valued at $9,399,960. This represents a 19.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 971,557 shares of company stock valued at $61,630,802. Corporate insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of MP Materials by 26.5% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 234,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,716,000 after purchasing an additional 49,052 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in MP Materials in the first quarter valued at about $215,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the first quarter worth about $219,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 479 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of MP Materials by 36.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 193,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,734,000 after purchasing an additional 51,348 shares during the last quarter. 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.