MP Materials Corp. $MP Shares Acquired by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. significantly increased its stake in MP Materials Corp. by 221.9%, owning 244,640 shares worth approximately $5.97 million as of the latest reporting.
• Analysts have raised the target price for MP Materials, with Robert W. Baird setting it at $69.00 and JPMorgan Chase & Co. at $64.00, while the average target price is $66.88.
• In insider trading news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal sold 150,000 shares at $72.02 each, reducing his ownership by 10.46%.

Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Free Report) by 221.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 244,640 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 168,648 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of MP Materials worth $5,972,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. NBC Securities Inc. grew its position in MP Materials by 119,900.0% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,199 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in MP Materials in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in MP Materials in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in MP Materials by 47.8% in the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,970 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 960 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional bought a new position in MP Materials in the 1st quarter valued at about $79,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.55% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MP shares. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of MP Materials from $52.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of MP Materials from $18.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of MP Materials to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of MP Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.88.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In related news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal sold 150,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.02, for a total transaction 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 approximately $92,503,136.18. The trade was a 10.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

MP Materials Stock Performance

Shares of MP opened at $66.14 on Thursday. MP Materials Corp. has a one year low of $12.95 and a one year high of $82.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $58.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.71. The stock has a market cap of $11.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -104.98 and a beta of 2.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 3.60 and a quick ratio of 3.12.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by $0.03. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 41.87% and a negative return on equity of 9.34%. The company had revenue of $57.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.84 million. During the same period last year, the company 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, equities research analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

MP Materials Profile

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.

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