MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Rating Raised to Buy at Freedom Broker

Key Points

• Freedom Broker upgraded MP Materials from Hold to Buy and set a $51 price target, implying about 40% upside from the cited share price.
• MP Materials’ latest quarter beat estimates: revenue rose 176% year over year to $147.7 million, and EPS was $0.04 versus analysts’ expected loss of $0.02.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and $69.50 average target, although Barclays and Canaccord recently lowered their targets. The shares were cited at $36.41, down on the day.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Freedom Broker from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Tuesday, Briefing.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $51.00 price objective on the stock. Freedom Broker's price objective indicates a potential upside of 40.07% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on MP Materials from $81.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $65.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on MP Materials from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of MP Materials from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Monday, August 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MP Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $69.50.

MP Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MP traded down $1.34 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $36.41. 3,635,995 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,376,979. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 9.51 and a quick ratio of 8.56. The company has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a PE ratio of -165.50 and a beta of 2.05. MP Materials has a twelve month low of $31.90 and a twelve month high of $76.80. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.30.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.06. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 1.21% and a negative net margin of 19.85%. The firm had revenue of $147.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.37 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.10) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 175.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MP Materials will post -0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of MP Materials by 5.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,773,746 shares of the company's stock worth $435,408,000 after purchasing an additional 376,519 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 72.4% during the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,482,169 shares of the company's stock worth $70,092,000 after acquiring an additional 622,641 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the 2nd quarter worth $65,230,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 32.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 919,083 shares of the company's stock worth $44,355,000 after acquiring an additional 225,009 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. grew its position in MP Materials by 26.0% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 763,110 shares of the company's stock worth $36,087,000 after acquiring an additional 157,272 shares in the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key MP Materials News

Here are the key news stories impacting MP Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MP reported third-quarter revenue of $147.7 million, up 176% year over year, and adjusted EPS of $0.04, beating estimates. Higher NdPr sales and pricing helped results. MP Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates on Higher NdPr Sales and Pricing
• Positive Sentiment: Management said customer demand is roughly 10 times planned capacity, with GM magnet shipments approaching. Jefferies also highlighted production growth and the magnet ramp-up after results. MP Q3 Earnings Call Highlights Jefferies highlights rare earth production growth and magnet ramp-up
• Neutral Sentiment: China extended its suspension of certain rare-earth export controls until January. That may ease near-term supply concerns, though it is a temporary reprieve ahead of planned U.S.-China talks. China extends rare-earth reprieve
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays cut its price target to $54 from $65, and Canaccord lowered its target to $70 from $82. Both firms retained positive ratings—Overweight and Buy, respectively—but the reductions may pressure near-term sentiment. Magnet-factory expansion is also increasing costs. Barclays lowers MP Materials price target Canaccord lowers price target

About MP Materials

MP Materials operates the Mountain Pass rare earth mine and processing facility in California. The site is a major North American source of rare earth materials, which are used in products such as electric vehicles, wind turbines, electronics and defense systems. The company mines and processes rare earth ore into concentrate and separated products, including neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr), a key input for high-strength permanent magnets. MP Materials is also developing domestic magnet manufacturing capabilities to extend its business further along the supply chain.

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