MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading Down 3.8% – Here’s What Happened

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s share price fell 3.8% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $59.24 and last traded at $61.32. 6,688,242 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 21% from the average session volume of 8,503,251 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.73.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MP has been the topic of several recent research reports. William Blair assumed coverage on MP Materials in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday, November 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on MP Materials in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $77.00 price target on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two investment 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.91.

MP Materials Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $10.87 billion, a PE ratio of -117.92 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 6.67, a current ratio of 7.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a 50-day moving average of $60.33 and a 200 day moving average of $64.01.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In related news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $2,288,760.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 156,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,399,960. This trade represents a 19.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 385,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.94, for a total transaction of $24,231,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 13,105,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $824,889,437.10. The trade was a 2.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 723,146 shares of company stock worth $45,767,276. 12.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MP. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in MP Materials during the second quarter worth about $132,238,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 19,314.3% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,013,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,987,000 after buying an additional 2,003,091 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $82,531,000. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. lifted its position in MP Materials by 168.4% in the 3rd quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 2,589,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $173,705,000 after buying an additional 1,624,908 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in MP Materials by 76.3% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,921,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,200,000 after buying an additional 1,264,243 shares in the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.