Flputnam Investment Management Co. Grows Stake in MP Materials Corp. $MP

Key Points

• Institutional ownership increased: Flputnam Investment Management raised its MP Materials stake by 7.0% to 160,870 shares, while institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 52.55% of the company.
• Mixed insider activity: CEO James Litinsky sold 185,167 shares worth about $12.8 million, while COO Michael Rosenthal purchased 10,000 shares for approximately $543,000. Corporate insiders own 8.20% of MP Materials.
• Analysts remain broadly positive: MP Materials has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $78.21, despite recent target reductions. The company reported 89% year-over-year quarterly revenue growth to $108.49 million but remained unprofitable.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Free Report) by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 160,870 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,470 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. owned approximately 0.09% of MP Materials worth $9,010,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd raised its holdings in MP Materials by 7.2% during the third quarter. Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd now owns 14,861,212 shares of the company's stock worth $996,741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,479,787 shares of the company's stock valued at $731,519,000 after buying an additional 459,213 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of MP Materials by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,597,885 shares of the company's stock valued at $333,325,000 after buying an additional 769,517 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of MP Materials by 76.3% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,921,542 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,200,000 after buying an additional 1,264,243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position 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 valued at $143,220,000 after buying an additional 1,183,307 shares during the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at MP Materials

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 185,167 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,620,798 shares in the company, valued at $803,461,973.72. The trade was a 1.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal acquired 10,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $54.30 per share, with a total value of $543,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer owned 136,622 shares in the company, valued at $7,418,574.60. The trade was a 7.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 8.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MP Materials Stock Down 4.7%

MP stock opened at $56.26 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $51.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.82. MP Materials Corp. has a 12 month low of $37.81 and a 12 month high of $100.25. The company has a market cap of $10.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -165.47 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 9.51 and a quick ratio of 8.56.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $96.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.13) EPS. MP Materials's quarterly revenue was up 89.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MP. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of MP Materials from $81.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Barclays cut their target price on MP Materials from $69.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "positive" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $78.21.

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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