Analysts Set MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) Target Price at $78.91

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) has been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $78.9091.

MP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $77.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley raised MP Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $68.50 to $71.00 in a research note on Friday, December 5th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded MP Materials from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $76.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, November 24th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Thursday, January 22nd.

MP Materials Trading Down 4.7%

Shares of MP opened at $57.19 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -109.98 and a beta of 1.55. MP Materials has a twelve month low of $18.64 and a twelve month high of $100.25. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 272,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.17, for a total transaction of $17,492,742.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,805,965 shares in the company, valued at $821,758,774.05. This represents a 2.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MP Materials

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $132,238,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of MP Materials by 19,314.3% during the second 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 during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in MP Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $82,531,000. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. raised its stake in MP Materials by 168.4% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

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.