Polymer Capital Management HK LTD Invests $505,000 in MP Materials Corp. $MP

Key Points

• Polymer Capital Management HK LTD bought a new stake in MP Materials in the fourth quarter, acquiring 10,000 shares worth about $505,000.
• MP Materials reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.03 versus estimates for a loss and revenue of $90.65 million, up 49.1% year over year.
• Analysts remain mostly upbeat on the stock, with a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $80.14, even as recent insider selling included CEO James H. Litinsky and CFO Ryan Corbett.

Polymer Capital Management HK LTD acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $505,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MP. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Financial Consulate Inc. increased its stake in shares of MP Materials by 555.3% during the fourth quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. now owns 557 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of MP Materials by 75.9% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 642 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.55% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of MP Materials in a report on Monday, June 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $81.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of MP Materials from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $80.14.

MP Materials Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:MP opened at $57.70 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $10.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -137.37 and a beta of 1.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $61.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 7.18 and a quick ratio of 6.58. MP Materials Corp. has a 1-year low of $28.35 and a 1-year high of $100.25.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $90.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $74.82 million. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 28.00% and a negative return on equity of 2.27%. MP Materials's quarterly revenue was up 49.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.12) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 185,167 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.14, for a total transaction of $12,802,446.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,620,798 shares in the company, valued at $803,461,973.72. This represents a 1.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 109,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,176,275. This represents a 15.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 1,251,167 shares of company stock worth $82,131,654 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 8.20% of the company's stock.

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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