Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Raises Stake in MP Materials Corp. $MP

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in MP Materials Corp. by 36%, owning 193,943 shares after purchasing 51,348 more during the first quarter.
• MP Materials reported a revenue increase of 83.6% year-over-year, with the latest quarterly revenue of $57.39 million, exceeding analyst expectations.
• Recent analyst ratings include upgrades from Jefferies Financial Group and Deutsche Bank, with a consensus price target of $66.88 for MP Materials stock.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Free Report) by 36.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 193,943 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 51,348 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of MP Materials worth $4,734,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 52.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,750 shares of the company's stock worth $140,000 after buying an additional 1,975 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 561.2% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 80,662 shares of the company's stock worth $2,002,000 after buying an additional 68,462 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 314.6% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 7,205 shares of the company's stock worth $176,000 after buying an additional 5,467 shares in the last quarter. Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the first quarter worth $219,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 1.2% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,093,057 shares of the company's stock worth $26,682,000 after buying an additional 13,389 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.55% of the company's stock.

MP Materials Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of MP stock traded up $0.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $73.09. 37,364,554 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,697,752. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $66.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.19. MP Materials Corp. has a 1-year low of $13.45 and a 1-year high of $82.50. The company has a market cap of $12.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -116.02 and a beta of 2.32. The company has a quick ratio of 3.12, a current ratio of 3.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.16) by $0.03. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 9.34% and a negative net margin of 41.87%.The firm had revenue of $57.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.84 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.17) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 83.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on MP. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $65.00 price target on MP Materials and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on MP Materials from $52.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Cfra Research upgraded MP Materials to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.88.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In related news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal sold 150,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.02, for a total value of $10,803,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,284,409 shares of the company's stock, valued at $92,503,136.18. The trade was a 10.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About MP Materials

MP Materials Corp., together with its subsidiaries, produces rare earth materials. The company owns and operates the Mountain Pass Rare Earth mine and processing facility in North America. It holds the mineral rights to the Mountain Pass mine and surrounding areas, as well as intellectual property rights related to the processing and development of rare earth minerals.