Banco BTG Pactual S.A. Makes New Investment in MP Materials Corp. $MP

Key Points

• Banco BTG Pactual opened a new position in MP Materials during the fourth quarter, buying 9,000 shares worth about $455,000.
• Institutional interest in MP remains strong, with several funds adding to positions; overall, 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
• MP Materials recently beat earnings expectations, reporting $0.03 EPS and $90.65 million in revenue, while analysts currently rate the stock a Buy with a consensus price target of $80.14.

Banco BTG Pactual S.A. purchased a new position in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 9,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $455,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MP. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,531,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of MP Materials by 76.3% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,921,542 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,264,243 shares during the period. Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of MP Materials by 7.2% during the third quarter. Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd now owns 14,861,212 shares of the company's stock valued at $996,741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,000 shares during the period. Amundi increased its position in shares of MP Materials by 1,320.8% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 954,317 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,934,000 after purchasing an additional 887,148 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,858,000. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MP Materials Price Performance

Shares of MP stock opened at $57.26 on Friday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $61.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 7.18 and a quick ratio of 6.58. The firm has a market cap of $10.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -136.32 and a beta of 1.86. MP Materials Corp. has a one year low of $25.17 and a one year 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, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.04. The business had revenue of $90.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.82 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 2.27% and a negative net margin of 28.00%.MP Materials's quarterly revenue was up 49.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.12) EPS. On average, analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MP has been the topic of a number of research reports. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded MP Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on MP Materials in a research report on Monday, June 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $81.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.14.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 185,167 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.14, for a total value of $12,802,446.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,620,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at $803,461,973.72. The trade was a 1.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 109,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,176,275. This represents a 15.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 1,251,167 shares of company stock valued at $82,131,654 in the last 90 days. 8.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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