MP Materials Corp. $MP Shares Bought by M&T Bank Corp

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp nearly doubled its stake in MP Materials in Q4, buying an additional 64,350 shares to hold 129,224 shares (about 0.07% of the company) valued at roughly $6.53 million.
• MP Materials beat Q4 EPS estimates ($0.09 vs. $0.02) but revenue fell 13.6% year-over-year and the company has a negative net margin (38.26%) and ROE; analysts' consensus is a Buy with an average price target of $79.08.
• Significant insider selling has occurred recently—CEOs and CFOs sold large blocks (totaling 346,000 shares worth about $21.97 million last quarter)—and insiders now own 9.5% of the stock.

M&T Bank Corp grew its position in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Free Report) by 99.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 129,224 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 64,350 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp owned about 0.07% of MP Materials worth $6,528,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MP. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in MP Materials by 26.5% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 234,185 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,716,000 after purchasing an additional 49,052 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in MP Materials in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in MP Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $219,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in MP Materials by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,793 shares of the company's stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of MP Materials by 36.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 193,943 shares of the company's stock worth $4,734,000 after buying an additional 51,348 shares in the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MP Materials Price Performance

MP stock opened at $60.82 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $57.11 and a 200-day moving average of $60.67. The company has a market cap of $10.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -116.96 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a current ratio of 7.24, a quick ratio of 6.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. MP Materials Corp. has a 12-month low of $18.64 and a 12-month high of $100.25.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.07. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 4.28% and a negative net margin of 38.26%.The business had revenue of $52.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $76.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.12) EPS. The company's revenue was down 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post 0.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Securities raised MP Materials to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded MP Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on MP Materials from $71.00 to $62.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $79.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MP Materials news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 46,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $2,760,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 129,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,741,020. This represents a 26.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 259,179 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $16,595,231.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,505,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $800,756,938.95. This represents a 2.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 346,000 shares of company stock worth $21,969,816. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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