James Litinsky Sells 259,179 Shares of MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock

Key Points

• CEO James Litinsky sold 259,179 shares on April 20 at an average price of $64.03 for about $16.6M under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing his stake by 2.03% to 12,505,965 shares (≈$800.8M).
• MP stock traded up 8.6% to $66.24 on heavy volume (~8.9M vs. avg. 5.1M), with a market cap of ~$11.77B, 50-/200-day SMAs of $56.70/$60.82, and a 12‑month range of $18.64–$100.25.
• Most recent quarter delivered $0.09 EPS (beating estimates) but revenue fell 13.6% YoY and margins remain negative, while analysts maintain an overall "Buy" consensus with a $79.08 average target amid mixed price‑target revisions.

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) CEO James Litinsky sold 259,179 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $16,595,231.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,505,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $800,756,938.95. The trade was a 2.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

MP Materials Trading Up 8.6%

MP stock traded up $5.25 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $66.24. The stock had a trading volume of 8,925,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,099,579. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.82. The company has a quick ratio of 6.67, a current ratio of 7.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market cap of $11.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -127.38 and a beta of 1.67. MP Materials Corp. has a twelve month low of $18.64 and a twelve month high of $100.25.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $52.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.06 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 4.28% and a negative net margin of 38.26%.The company's revenue was down 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.12) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post 0.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on MP Materials from $71.00 to $62.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. TD Securities upgraded MP Materials to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Two equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $79.08.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MP. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,531,000. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 168.4% during the 3rd quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 2,589,908 shares of the company's stock worth $173,705,000 after acquiring an additional 1,624,908 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 76.3% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,921,542 shares of the company's stock worth $97,200,000 after acquiring an additional 1,264,243 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased 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 acquiring an additional 1,183,307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 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 acquiring an additional 1,000,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.55% of the company's stock.

MP Materials Company 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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