Voya Investment Management LLC Boosts Stake in MP Materials Corp. $MP

Voya Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 692,479 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 71,399 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in MP Materials were worth $46,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MP. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new stake in MP Materials during the third quarter worth $34,000. Hilltop National Bank grew its stake in MP Materials by 500.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its stake in shares of MP Materials by 168.7% during 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. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials in the 3rd quarter worth about $67,000. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

In other news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 385,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.94, for a total value of $24,231,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 13,105,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $824,889,437.10. This represents a 2.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $2,288,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 156,666 shares in the company, valued at $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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 691,557 shares of company stock worth $43,538,586. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

MP Materials Stock Up 3.7%

MP opened at $53.96 on Friday. MP Materials Corp. has a 12 month low of $15.56 and a 12 month high of $100.25. The company has a market cap of $9.56 billion, a PE ratio of -76.00 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a current ratio of 8.05, a quick ratio of 7.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a 50 day moving average of $63.40 and a 200 day moving average of $59.34.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $53.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.72 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 7.69% and a negative net margin of 50.55%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.12) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of MP Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $74.00 in a report on Friday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of MP Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $68.50 to $71.00 in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Daiwa Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of MP Materials in a report on Monday, September 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded MP Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.91.

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.