Insider Selling: MP Materials (NYSE:MP) CEO Sells $12,802,446.38 in Stock

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) CEO James Litinsky sold 185,167 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.14, for a total value of $12,802,446.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,620,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $803,461,973.72. This trade represents a 1.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

MP Materials Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of MP Materials stock opened at $59.20 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 6.58 and a current ratio of 7.18. MP Materials Corp. has a 52-week low of $23.26 and a 52-week high of $100.25. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $60.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -140.96 and a beta of 1.86.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.04. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 28.00% and a negative return on equity of 2.27%. The business had revenue of $90.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $74.82 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.12) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 49.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. TD Securities upgraded MP Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen raised MP Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of MP Materials from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $80.14.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. EMC Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new position in MP Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MP Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. raised its position in shares of MP Materials by 555.3% in the 4th quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. now owns 557 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is 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.