Baillie Gifford & Co. Trims Stock Position in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)

Key Points

• Baillie Gifford & Co. reduced its stake in MP Materials Corp. by 12.0%, selling 177,617 shares in the first quarter, and now holds approximately 0.80% of the company valued at $31.85 million.
• Despite a significant increase in revenue, MP Materials reported a loss of ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, falling short of the consensus estimate of ($0.10).
• Analysts have expressed varying outlooks on MP Materials, with target prices ranging from $20.00 to $69.00, and five analysts rating the stock as a "Moderate Buy."

Baillie Gifford & Co. trimmed its stake in shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Free Report) by 12.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,304,856 shares of the company's stock after selling 177,617 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned about 0.80% of MP Materials worth $31,852,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MP. NBC Securities Inc. raised its position in MP Materials by 119,900.0% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,200 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,199 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in MP Materials during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in MP Materials by 40.3% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,441 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in MP Materials by 47.8% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,970 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 960 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional acquired a new stake in MP Materials in the first quarter valued at about $79,000. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MP Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MP opened at $62.14 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.12, a quick ratio of 3.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company's 50-day moving average price is $35.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.56. MP Materials Corp. has a 52 week low of $10.02 and a 52 week high of $65.05. The stock has a market cap of $10.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -95.60 and a beta of 2.26.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.02). MP Materials had a negative net margin of 48.41% and a negative return on equity of 9.77%. The firm had revenue of $60.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.04) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 24.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MP shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on MP Materials from $20.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded MP Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of MP Materials from $18.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley raised shares of MP Materials from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $33.00 price objective (up previously from $32.00) on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.11.

About MP Materials

MP Materials Corp., together with its subsidiaries, produces rare earth materials. The company owns and operates the Mountain Pass Rare Earth mine and processing facility in North America. It holds the mineral rights to the Mountain Pass mine and surrounding areas, as well as intellectual property rights related to the processing and development of rare earth minerals.

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