WMS Group LLC Invests $557,000 in MP Materials Corp. $MP

Key Points

• WMS Group LLC disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in MP Materials, buying 11,018 shares valued at about $557,000.
• MP Materials reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.03 versus an expected loss and revenue of $90.65 million, up 49.1% year over year.
• Analysts remain largely positive on the stock, with a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $80.14, even as insider trading has been mixed recently.

WMS Group LLC bought a new stake in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 11,018 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $557,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd now owns 14,861,212 shares of the company's stock worth $996,741,000 after buying an additional 1,000,000 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in MP Materials by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,479,787 shares of the company's stock worth $731,519,000 after acquiring an additional 459,213 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,597,885 shares of the company's stock worth $333,325,000 after purchasing an additional 769,517 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 76.3% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,921,542 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,264,243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 71.6% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,834,914 shares of the company's stock worth $143,220,000 after purchasing an additional 1,183,307 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.55% of the company's stock.

MP Materials Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:MP opened at $60.83 on Friday. 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 Corp. has a one year low of $29.58 and a one year high of $100.25. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $62.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.66. The stock has a market cap of $10.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -144.83 and a beta of 1.86.

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

Insider Transactions at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 185,167 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,620,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at $803,461,973.72. This trade represents a 1.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal bought 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $54.30 per share, for a total transaction of $543,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer owned 136,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,418,574.60. This represents a 7.90% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,205,167 shares of company stock valued at $79,371,654. 8.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MP shares. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $69.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Wedbush increased their target price on MP Materials from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, MP Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $80.14.

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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