MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading 1.7% Higher – Should You Buy?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) rose 1.7% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $70.46 and last traded at $69.56. Approximately 7,751,184 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 23% from the average daily volume of 10,056,289 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.37.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on MP. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $68.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $78.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of MP Materials from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $77.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.91.

MP Materials Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 7.51, a current ratio of 8.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business’s 50-day moving average is $58.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.81. The company has a market capitalization of $12.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -97.97 and a beta of 1.62.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.05. The business had revenue of $53.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.12) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 272,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.17, for a total value of $17,492,742.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,805,965 shares in the company, valued at $821,758,774.05. This represents a 2.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $2,288,760.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 156,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,399,960. This represents a 19.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 991,557 shares of company stock valued at $62,785,202 over the last ninety days. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Calamos Advisors LLC bought a new position in MP Materials in the 3rd quarter worth about $16,726,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 132.7% during the second quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 176,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,888,000 after purchasing an additional 100,915 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials during the second quarter worth about $241,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new position in shares of MP Materials in the third quarter worth approximately $670,000. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of MP Materials in the third quarter worth approximately $550,000. Institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

About MP Materials

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.