MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Down 1.7% – Should You Sell?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) shares traded down 1.7% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $53.29 and last traded at $53.4020. 6,410,855 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 9% from the average session volume of 7,016,099 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.30.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MP Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wedbush upped their price objective 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. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of MP Materials in a report on Friday, June 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.14.

MP Materials Trading Down 1.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of $9.51 billion, a PE ratio of -127.15 and a beta of 1.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $60.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 7.18 and a quick ratio of 6.58.

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, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $74.82 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.12) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 49.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 46,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $2,760,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 129,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,020. The trade was a 26.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 259,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total transaction of $16,595,231.37. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,505,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $800,756,938.95. This trade represents a 2.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,251,167 shares of company stock worth $82,131,654. 8.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of MP Materials

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EMC Capital Management purchased a new stake in MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new stake in MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. increased its holdings in MP Materials by 555.3% during the fourth quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. now owns 557 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

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.