Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Sells 21,901 Shares of MP Materials Corp. $MP

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC reduced its position in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 57.0% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 16,554 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,901 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in MP Materials were worth $927,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MP. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in MP Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $2,451,000. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 260.2% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 385,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,580,000 after buying an additional 278,126 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $449,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $1,482,000. Finally, Myriad Asset Management Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $1,229,000. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MP Materials Price Performance

MP stock opened at $53.87 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $51.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.19. The company has a quick ratio of 8.56, a current ratio of 9.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $9.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -158.44 and a beta of 1.88. MP Materials Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $37.81 and a fifty-two week high of $100.25.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.01). MP Materials had a negative net margin of 19.85% and a negative return on equity of 1.21%. The company had revenue of $108.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $96.89 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.13) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 89.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post 0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

In related news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal purchased 17,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $56.62 per share, for a total transaction of $962,540.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,333,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $75,512,565.26. The trade was a 1.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 234,651 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.87, for a total transaction of $15,456,461.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,855,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $780,952,414.55. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 585,167 shares of company stock valued at $39,028,272. Company insiders own 8.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Friday, July 17th. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of MP Materials from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of MP Materials from $69.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.21.

MP Materials 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.