Bleakley Financial Group LLC Makes New Investment in MP Materials Corp. $MP

Key Points

• Bleakley Financial Group disclosed a new fourth-quarter position in MP Materials, buying 29,332 shares worth about $1.48 million.
• MP Materials reported a better-than-expected Q1, earning $0.03 per share versus the expected loss and posting revenue of $90.65 million, up 49.1% from a year ago.
• Wall Street sentiment remains upbeat, with several firms raising targets and MP holding a consensus Buy rating with an average price target of $80.08.

Bleakley Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 29,332 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,482,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Costello Asset Management INC lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 1,300 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Composition Wealth LLC increased its position in MP Materials by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Composition Wealth LLC now owns 18,334 shares of the company's stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. IMG Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in MP Materials by 4.7% in the third quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,446 shares of the company's stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. ARS Investment Partners LLC increased its position in MP Materials by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC now owns 19,980 shares of the company's stock worth $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of MP Materials by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 21,444 shares of the company's stock worth $713,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MP Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MP opened at $66.79 on Friday. 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 stock's fifty day moving average price is $59.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.48. MP Materials Corp. has a one year low of $19.60 and a one year high of $100.25. The firm has a market cap of $11.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -159.03 and a beta of 1.90.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.04. The company 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.12) EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MP. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on MP Materials from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Barclays began coverage on MP Materials in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $69.00 target price on the stock. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 price objective on MP Materials in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, MP Materials has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.08.

Insider Transactions at MP Materials

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 177,188 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total transaction of $11,540,254.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,205,965 shares in the company, valued at $794,974,500.45. This represents a 1.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal acquired 17,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $56.62 per share, with a total value of $962,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 1,333,673 shares in the company, valued at $75,512,565.26. The trade was a 1.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 666,000 shares of company stock valued at $43,103,382. 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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