PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Acquires 9,637 Shares of MP Materials Corp. $MP

Key Points

• PNC Financial Services boosted its MP Materials stake by 68.3% in Q4, adding 9,637 shares to reach 23,747 shares valued at about $1.2 million.
• Institutional interest in MP Materials remains strong, with several large investors increasing holdings and 52.55% of the stock now owned by institutions.
• MP Materials has seen mixed insider activity and positive analyst sentiment: the COO bought shares, the CEO sold shares under a 10b5-1 plan, and analysts currently rate the stock a Buy with a consensus price target of $80.08.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Free Report) by 68.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,747 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,637 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.'s holdings in MP Materials were worth $1,200,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of MP Materials by 7.2% in 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 during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of MP Materials by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,479,787 shares of the company's stock worth $731,519,000 after purchasing an additional 459,213 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of MP Materials by 76.3% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,921,542 shares of the company's stock worth $97,200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,264,243 shares during the last quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of MP Materials by 168.4% in the third quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 2,589,908 shares of the company's stock worth $173,705,000 after purchasing an additional 1,624,908 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in MP Materials by 20.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,119,058 shares of the company's stock worth $75,055,000 after buying an additional 192,870 shares during the period. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other MP Materials news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal bought 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $56.62 per share, for a total transaction of $962,540.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer owned 1,333,673 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $75,512,565.26. This trade represents a 1.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 259,179 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total transaction of $16,595,231.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,505,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at $800,756,938.95. The trade was a 2.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 666,000 shares of company stock worth $43,103,382. Insiders own 8.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MP Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, March 8th. Barclays started coverage on MP Materials in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $69.00 price target on the stock. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.08.

MP Materials Price Performance

MP stock opened at $66.79 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $59.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.48. MP Materials Corp. has a 52-week low of $19.60 and a 52-week high of $100.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -159.03 and a beta of 1.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 6.58 and a current ratio of 7.18.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.04. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 28.00% and a negative return on equity of 2.27%. The firm had revenue of $90.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.82 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.12) earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 49.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About MP Materials

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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