Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley lowered its MP Materials price target from $73 to $66 while maintaining an “overweight” rating, implying 43.14% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $75, despite several recent target reductions.
• MP Materials shares fell to $46.11, while the company reported an 89% year-over-year revenue increase to $108.49 million in its latest quarter but remained unprofitable.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $73.00 to $66.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective suggests a potential upside of 43.14% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on MP. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on MP Materials from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Wall Street Zen raised MP Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on MP Materials from $70.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays decreased their price objective on MP Materials from $69.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Friday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.00.

MP Materials Price Performance

Shares of MP Materials stock traded down $2.42 on Wednesday, hitting $46.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,402,923 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,402,533. MP Materials has a 52-week low of $37.81 and a 52-week high of $100.25. The company has a quick ratio of 8.56, a current ratio of 9.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $51.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.09. The company has a market capitalization of $8.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -136.00 and a beta of 1.98.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01). MP Materials had a negative net margin of 19.85% and a negative return on equity of 1.21%. The firm had revenue of $108.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $96.89 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.13) EPS. The firm's revenue was up 89.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that MP Materials will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of MP Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. EMC Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its stake in MP Materials by 73.3% in the second quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 520 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Markowski Investments acquired a new position in MP Materials in the second quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Archer Investment Corp lifted its position in MP Materials by 990.1% during the first quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 1,101 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. 52.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About MP Materials

MP Materials Corp. is a rare earth materials company that owns and operates the Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine and processing facility in California. The site produces rare earth concentrate, with a focus on neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr), materials used in high-strength permanent magnets.

The company is expanding its operations beyond mining and concentrate production by developing domestic capabilities to separate rare earth elements and manufacture neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets.

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