MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading Up 1.9% – Still a Buy?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) rose 1.9% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $58.59 and last traded at $58.0260. Approximately 3,062,963 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 9,271,175 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.95.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $68.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley upgraded MP Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $68.50 to $71.00 in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, William Blair started coverage on MP Materials in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.91.

MP Materials Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $10.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -81.73 and a beta of 1.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $59.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $64.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 8.05 and a quick ratio of 7.51.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In related news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 156,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,399,960. The trade was a 19.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 272,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.17, for a total value of $17,492,742.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,805,965 shares in the company, valued at $821,758,774.05. This trade represents a 2.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 971,557 shares of company stock worth $61,630,802. 9.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Calamos Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $16,726,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in MP Materials by 132.7% during the second quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 176,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,888,000 after buying an additional 100,915 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new stake in MP Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $670,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $550,000. Finally, Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,089,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

MP Materials Company Profile

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.