State of Alaska Department of Revenue Sells 57,530 Shares of MP Materials Corp. $MP

Key Points

• State of Alaska Department of Revenue cut its MP Materials stake by 79.9% in Q3, selling 57,530 shares and ending the quarter with 14,430 shares worth about $967,000.
• Company insiders have been net sellers: CEO James H. Litinsky sold 272,600 shares (~$17.49M) and the CFO sold 38,146 shares, with insiders offloading 991,557 shares (~$62.8M) over the past three months; insiders now own 9.5% of the stock.
• Despite a quarterly EPS beat (‑$0.10 vs. ‑$0.15) and revenue down 14.9%, analysts remain mostly positive, giving MP a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $78.91.

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lowered its holdings in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Free Report) by 79.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,430 shares of the company's stock after selling 57,530 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue's holdings in MP Materials were worth $967,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MP. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 49,052 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in MP Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $215,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $219,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of MP Materials by 36.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 193,943 shares of the company's stock worth $4,734,000 after purchasing an additional 51,348 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.55% of the company's stock.

MP Materials Trading Up 3.4%

MP opened at $68.96 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $12.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -97.13 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a current ratio of 8.05, a quick ratio of 7.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company's 50 day moving average is $58.44 and its 200-day moving average is $63.26. MP Materials Corp. has a 1-year low of $18.64 and a 1-year high of $100.25.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.05. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 50.55% and a negative return on equity of 7.69%. The business had revenue of $53.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $49.72 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.12) EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at MP Materials

In other news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 272,600 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.17, for a total transaction of $17,492,742.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,805,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $821,758,774.05. This trade represents a 2.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $2,288,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 156,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,399,960. This represents a 19.58% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 991,557 shares of company stock worth $62,785,202 over the last three months. Insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MP shares. Daiwa America raised shares of MP Materials to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $77.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of MP Materials from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of MP Materials from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Friday, November 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MP Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $78.91.

MP Materials 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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