MP Materials Corp. $MP Holdings Boosted by Skylands Capital LLC

Key Points

• Skylands Capital increased its MP Materials stake by 12.2% in the third quarter to 117,245 shares, while institutional investors collectively own 52.55% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $71.92, although several firms recently lowered targets and some downgraded the stock.
• MP Materials reported quarterly revenue of $108.49 million, up 89% year over year, but remained unprofitable with a loss of $0.01 per share and negative net margins.

Skylands Capital LLC increased its stake in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Free Report) by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 117,245 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,750 shares during the quarter. Skylands Capital LLC owned about 0.07% of MP Materials worth $5,545,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MP. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in MP Materials by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,773,746 shares of the company's stock worth $435,408,000 after purchasing an additional 376,519 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in MP Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $65,230,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in MP Materials by 32.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 919,083 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,355,000 after buying an additional 225,009 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in MP Materials by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 564,808 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,635,000 after buying an additional 8,556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of MP Materials by 1.7% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 518,108 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,004,000 after buying an additional 8,663 shares during the period. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target 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. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Freedom Broker began coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. They set a "hold" rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research cut shares of MP Materials from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MP Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, October 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $71.92.

MP Materials Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE MP opened at $39.51 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 8.56, a current ratio of 9.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $50.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.41. MP Materials Corp. has a twelve month low of $37.81 and a twelve month high of $76.80. The company has a market capitalization of $7.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -116.21 and a beta of 1.98.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $108.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $96.89 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 1.21% and a negative net margin of 19.85%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 89.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.13) EPS. Research analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.20 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MP Materials Profile

MP Materials Corp. is a rare earth materials company focused on restoring and expanding a fully integrated rare earth supply chain in the United States. The company owns and operates the Mountain Pass rare earth mine and processing facility in California, one of the largest rare earth production sites in the Western Hemisphere.

MP Materials primarily produces rare earth concentrate containing neodymium and praseodymium, elements used in high-strength permanent magnets. These magnets are important components in electric vehicles, wind turbines, robotics, defense systems, and other advanced technologies.

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