MP Materials Corp. $MP Shares Sold by D.A. Davidson & CO.

D.A. Davidson & CO. cut its holdings in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 34.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,190 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,582 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in MP Materials were worth $2,475,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,543,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in MP Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,451,000. Amundi lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. acquired a new stake in MP Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $449,000. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in MP Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $1,482,000. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key MP Materials News

Here are the key news stories impacting MP Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong Q2 growth: MP reported second-quarter revenue of $108.49 million, an 89% year-over-year increase, while its net loss narrowed and NdPr rare-earth output improved. The results helped drive a recent rally despite the company missing some earnings expectations. MP Gains 15% Despite Q2 Earnings Miss: How to Play the Stock?
• Positive Sentiment: Magnet and supply-chain expansion: New supply activity with major customers and MP’s efforts to build a U.S. mine-to-magnet business strengthen its strategic importance as the country seeks to reduce dependence on China for rare earths. How the U.S. Is Trying to Copy China’s Supply Chain Playbook
• Positive Sentiment: Favorable long-term theme: Analysts and market commentary continue to frame MP as a way to invest in technology infrastructure and domestic critical-mineral capacity, supporting the company’s long-term investment narrative. SpaceX vs. MP Materials: 2 Very Different Ways to Bet on the Next Decade of Tech
• Neutral Sentiment: MP’s presentation at Canaccord Genuity’s growth conference provides additional visibility into its strategy and outlook, but the available report does not identify a new financial catalyst. MP Materials Corp. Presents at Canaccord Genuity’s Growth Conference
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability and valuation risks: MP remains loss-making, faces high operating costs and has seen estimates reduced. Commentary also warns that the stock trades at a premium valuation, leaving it vulnerable if production growth or magnet commercialization falls short. Is MP Materials Undervalued Following Q2 Revenue Growth and New Magnet Supply Deals?

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Friday, July 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on MP Materials from $70.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of MP Materials from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of MP Materials from $69.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, MP Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $78.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

MP Materials Stock Performance

NYSE:MP opened at $55.67 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $9.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -163.72 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. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $51.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.09.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.01). The company had revenue of $108.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $96.89 million. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 19.85% and a negative return on equity of 1.21%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 89.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.13) EPS. Analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.03 EPS for the current year.

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.