MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) Given Average Rating of "Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts are broadly bullish on MP Materials, with a consensus rating of “Buy” from 20 research firms and an average 12-month target price of about $79.54.
• The company recently beat earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $0.03 EPS versus a loss expected and $90.65 million in revenue, up 49.1% year over year.
• Insider trading has been mixed, with the COO buying shares in June while the CFO sold shares in May; insiders have sold more stock than they bought over the last 90 days.

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Buy" from the twenty research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, sixteen have given a buy recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $79.5357.

MP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on MP Materials in a report on Monday, June 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $81.00 price target on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 price objective on MP Materials in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays assumed coverage on MP Materials in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $69.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of MP Materials from $70.00 to $71.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th.

MP Materials Price Performance

MP opened at $49.50 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 6.58, a current ratio of 7.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company's 50-day moving average price is $59.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.29. MP Materials has a fifty-two week low of $44.43 and a fifty-two week high of $100.25. The firm has a market cap of $8.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -117.85 and a beta of 1.86.

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

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In other news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal bought 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $54.30 per share, for a total transaction of $543,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 136,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,418,574.60. This trade represents a 7.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 109,017 shares in the company, valued at $8,176,275. The trade was a 15.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 1,205,167 shares of company stock worth $79,371,654 in the last ninety days. 8.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Private Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,702,000. Polianta Ltd bought a new position in shares of MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $1,227,000. Dorsey Wright & Associates increased its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 84.1% in the third quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates now owns 118,252 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,931,000 after buying an additional 54,031 shares in the last quarter. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $1,184,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $2,451,000. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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