MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading Down 4.5% – What’s Next?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s stock price traded down 4.5% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $64.98 and last traded at $65.44. 3,997,907 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 7,005,717 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.55.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports 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 lifted their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of MP Materials in a report on Thursday, May 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $69.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of MP Materials in a report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $81.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $80.14.

MP Materials Price 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’s 50-day moving average is $60.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.71. The company has a market capitalization of $11.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -155.81 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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $90.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.82 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.12) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 49.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 46,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $2,760,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 129,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,741,020. The trade was a 26.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal acquired 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $56.62 per share, for a total transaction of $962,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 1,333,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,512,565.26. This trade represents a 1.29% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have sold 1,066,000 shares of company stock valued at $69,329,207 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 8.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MP Materials

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EMC Capital Management bought a new stake in MP Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new stake in MP Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in MP Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Financial Consulate Inc. raised its position in MP Materials by 555.3% in the fourth quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. now owns 557 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in MP Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. 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.