MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Given New $54.00 Price Target at Barclays

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) had its target price cut by analysts at Barclays from $65.00 to $54.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 44.12% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on MP. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price 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. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of MP Materials from $81.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MP Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.00.

MP Materials Trading Up 5.8%

MP stock traded up $2.06 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $37.47. 1,517,700 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,361,255. MP Materials has a 1-year low of $31.90 and a 1-year high of $76.80. The company has a current ratio of 6.75, a quick ratio of 6.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.67 billion, a PE ratio of -170.00 and a beta of 2.05. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.44.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $147.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.37 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 0.05% and a negative net margin of 9.90%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 175.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.10) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MP Materials will post -0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its holdings in MP Materials by 45.6% during the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 5,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 1,730 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in MP Materials by 41.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 8,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $380,000 after acquiring an additional 2,362 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in MP Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $280,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in MP Materials by 147.2% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 74,265 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,512,000 after purchasing an additional 44,218 shares during the period. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System purchased a new stake in MP Materials during the third quarter worth about $360,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

About MP Materials

MP Materials operates the Mountain Pass rare earth mine and processing facility in California. The site is a major North American source of rare earth materials, which are used in products such as electric vehicles, wind turbines, electronics and defense systems.

The company mines and processes rare earth ore into concentrate and separated products, including neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr), a key input for high-strength permanent magnets. MP Materials is also developing domestic magnet manufacturing capabilities to extend its business further along the supply chain.

Mountain Pass has a long history of rare earth production, and MP Materials acquired the site’s operating assets in 2017.