FirstWave Capital Management LLC Purchases 11,820 Shares of MP Materials Corp. $MP

Key Points

• FirstWave Capital Management increased its MP Materials position by 23.8% in the second quarter, purchasing 11,820 shares and bringing its holdings to 61,473 shares valued at approximately $3.44 million.
• Institutional investors own 52.55% of MP Materials, while COO Michael Rosenthal purchased 10,000 shares at $54.30 each; company insiders collectively own 8.20%.
• MP Materials reported quarterly revenue of $108.49 million, up 89% year over year, while EPS came in at a loss of $0.01. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $78.21, despite one recent “Strong Sell” downgrade.

FirstWave Capital Management LLC boosted its position in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Free Report) by 23.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,473 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,820 shares during the quarter. MP Materials makes up 1.5% of FirstWave Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. FirstWave Capital Management LLC's holdings in MP Materials were worth $3,443,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd grew its position 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 buying an additional 1,000,000 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in MP Materials by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,597,885 shares of the company's stock valued at $333,325,000 after acquiring an additional 769,517 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in MP Materials by 76.3% during the 2nd 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 boosted its stake in MP Materials by 71.6% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Reaves W H & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in MP Materials by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 2,609,526 shares of the company's stock worth $131,833,000 after acquiring an additional 19,618 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.55% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Michael Rosenthal bought 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $54.30 per share, for a total transaction of $543,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer owned 136,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,418,574.60. This represents a 7.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 8.20% of the company's stock.

MP Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MP opened at $54.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 8.56 and a current ratio of 9.51. The firm has a market cap of $9.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -160.05 and a beta of 1.94. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.61. MP Materials Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $37.81 and a fifty-two week high of $100.25.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01). MP Materials had a negative net margin of 19.85% and a negative return on equity of 1.21%. The firm had revenue of $108.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $96.89 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.13) EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 89.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $81.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of MP Materials from $69.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of MP Materials from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $78.21.

MP Materials Company 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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