MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Up 8.3% Following Strong Earnings

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) shares traded up 8.3% during mid-day trading on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $56.80 and last traded at $56.2370. 13,501,816 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 25% from the average session volume of 10,812,094 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.95.

The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $53.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.72 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 9.34% and a negative net margin of 41.87%.The company’s revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.12) earnings per share.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of MP Materials from $78.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Friday. Cfra Research raised MP Materials to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded MP Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, MP Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MP Materials news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal sold 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.02, for a total transaction of $10,803,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,284,409 shares in the company, valued at $92,503,136.18. This represents a 10.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 9.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MP. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in MP Materials in the second quarter worth $25,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in MP Materials by 420.0% during the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its stake in MP Materials by 168.7% in the second quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management grew its position in MP Materials by 132.7% in the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 181.3% during the 2nd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

MP Materials Stock Up 9.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 3.60 and a quick ratio of 3.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $69.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -89.75 and a beta of 2.26.

MP Materials Company Profile

MP Materials Corp., together with its subsidiaries, produces rare earth materials. The company owns and operates the Mountain Pass Rare Earth mine and processing facility in North America. It holds the mineral rights to the Mountain Pass mine and surrounding areas, as well as intellectual property rights related to the processing and development of rare earth minerals.