39,100 Shares in MP Materials Corp. $MP Acquired by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System initiated a new position in MP Materials, buying 39,100 shares worth about $1.89 million in the first quarter.
• MP Materials insider activity was mixed: CEO James H. Litinsky sold 185,167 shares, while COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal bought 10,000 shares. Overall, insiders have sold 1.2 million shares over the last three months.
• The company beat quarterly earnings expectations, posting $0.03 EPS on revenue of $90.65 million, while analysts currently maintain a Buy consensus with an average price target of $80.14.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 39,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,887,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EMC Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC bought a new position in MP Materials in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Financial Consulate Inc. raised its holdings in MP Materials by 555.3% in the 4th quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. now owns 557 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in MP Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. 52.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 185,167 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.14, for a total transaction of $12,802,446.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,620,798 shares in the company, valued at $803,461,973.72. This trade represents a 1.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal purchased 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $54.30 per share, with a total value of $543,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer directly owned 136,622 shares in the company, valued at $7,418,574.60. This represents a 7.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,205,167 shares of company stock valued at $79,371,654. 8.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

MP Materials Stock Performance

MP opened at $56.12 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 6.58 and a current ratio of 7.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -133.61 and a beta of 1.86. The company has a fifty day moving average of $62.13 and a 200 day moving average of $59.48. MP Materials Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $29.58 and a fifty-two week high of $100.25.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $90.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $74.82 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.12) EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 49.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on MP Materials from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wedbush increased their target price on shares of MP Materials from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $80.14.

MP Materials 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.

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