Praxis Investment Management Inc. Takes $253,000 Position in MP Materials Corp. $MP

Key Points

• Praxis Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in MP Materials Corp. valued at approximately $253,000 by purchasing 7,590 shares in the second quarter.
• MP Materials has seen significant interest from institutional investors, with 52.55% of its stock owned by such entities, including notable increases in holdings by GAMMA Investing LLC and Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC.
• Analysts have a generally positive outlook on MP Materials, with an average consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $77.80 following several upgrades from various brokerages.

Praxis Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $253,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 52.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,750 shares of the company's stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 1,975 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 22.5% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,597 shares of the company's stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 2,316 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 20.6% during the first quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 3,965 shares of the company's stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares during the period. Advisor Resource Council acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the first quarter worth $1,018,000. Finally, Canton Hathaway LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the first quarter worth $347,000. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

In other news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal sold 150,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.02, for a total value of $10,803,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 1,284,409 shares in the company, valued at $92,503,136.18. This trade represents a 10.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MP. Cfra Research raised MP Materials to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Friday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised MP Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on MP Materials from $20.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on MP Materials from $78.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MP Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.80.

MP Materials Price Performance

MP Materials stock opened at $80.55 on Friday. MP Materials Corp. has a one year low of $15.56 and a one year high of $100.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 3.12 and a current ratio of 3.60. The business has a fifty day moving average of $71.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.34. The company has a market cap of $14.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -127.86 and a beta of 2.32.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.16) by $0.03. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 9.34% and a negative net margin of 41.87%.The company had revenue of $57.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.84 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.17) earnings per share. MP Materials's quarterly revenue was up 83.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About MP Materials

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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