MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Up 8.8% – Should You Buy?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s stock price shot up 8.8% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $66.20 and last traded at $63.6820. 20,240,771 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 86% from the average session volume of 10,904,931 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.51.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on MP shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $52.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a report on Friday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on MP Materials in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.82.

MP Materials Stock Up 8.8%

The company’s 50 day moving average is $68.90 and its 200 day moving average is $53.64. The company has a market cap of $11.29 billion, a PE ratio of -89.69 and a beta of 2.26. The company has a current ratio of 8.05, a quick ratio of 7.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.05. The company had revenue of $53.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.72 million. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 50.55% and a negative return on equity of 7.69%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.12) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MP Materials news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal sold 150,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.02, for a total transaction of $10,803,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,284,409 shares in the company, valued at $92,503,136.18. This trade represents a 10.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 12.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in MP Materials in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its position in shares of MP Materials by 168.7% in the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 806 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 132.7% during the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in MP Materials by 181.3% during the second quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 651 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

About MP Materials

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.