Bank of New York Mellon Corp Makes New Investment in MP Materials Corp. $MP

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon acquired 1.16 million MP Materials shares worth approximately $65.2 million, while institutional investors collectively owned 52.55% of the company.
• Insider activity was mixed: CEO James Litinsky sold 185,167 shares for about $12.8 million, while COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal purchased 10,000 shares for $543,000.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average $78.21 price target, despite several recent target cuts. MP Materials reported quarterly revenue of $108.5 million, up 89% year over year, while posting an EPS loss of $0.01.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,164,609 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,230,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.65% of MP Materials at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MP. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in MP Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $82,531,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of MP Materials by 76.3% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,921,542 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,200,000 after acquiring an additional 1,264,243 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 71.6% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,834,914 shares of the company's stock worth $143,220,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183,307 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd now owns 14,861,212 shares of the company's stock worth $996,741,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 1,320.8% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 954,317 shares of the company's stock worth $70,934,000 after purchasing an additional 887,148 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.55% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 185,167 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.14, for a total value of $12,802,446.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,620,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $803,461,973.72. This represents a 1.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal acquired 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $54.30 per share, for a total transaction of $543,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer owned 136,622 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,418,574.60. This represents a 7.90% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 8.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $70.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on MP Materials from $81.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on MP Materials from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on MP Materials from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 price objective on MP Materials in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $78.21.

MP Materials Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:MP opened at $59.28 on Thursday. MP Materials Corp. has a 52-week low of $37.81 and a 52-week high of $100.25. The stock has a market cap of $10.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -174.35 and a beta of 1.88. The business's 50 day moving average is $51.78 and its 200 day moving average is $56.84. The company has a quick ratio of 8.56, a current ratio of 9.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01). MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 1.21% and a negative net margin of 19.85%.The business had revenue of $108.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $96.89 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.13) EPS. MP Materials's revenue was up 89.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.07 EPS for the current year.

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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