MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Down 1.1% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) traded down 1.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $59.37 and last traded at $60.2350. 4,105,682 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 41% from the average daily volume of 6,900,887 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.88.

More MP Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating and $85 price target, arguing MP Materials may see little operational impact from China’s export-control move. MP Materials seen largely insulated after China export-control move
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage coverage continues to show a consensus Buy rating for MP Materials, reinforcing generally constructive analyst sentiment. MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages
• Negative Sentiment: China added MP Materials to its dual-use export control list, increasing uncertainty around trade flows and adding pressure to the stock. Market Chatter: MP Materials, USA Rare Earth Hit by China’s Latest Trade Curbs

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MP shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on MP Materials in a report on Monday, June 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $81.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on MP Materials from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Barclays started coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $69.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a report on Friday, May 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MP Materials has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $80.14.

MP Materials Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 6.58, a current ratio of 7.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $62.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.67. The stock has a market cap of $10.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -143.42 and a beta of 1.86.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last released 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. The business had revenue of $90.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $74.82 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 2.27% and a negative net margin of 28.00%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 49.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.12) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 109,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,176,275. The trade was a 15.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal acquired 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $56.62 per share, with a total value of $962,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,333,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,512,565.26. This represents a 1.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,205,167 shares of company stock worth $79,371,654. Corporate insiders own 8.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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