MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $27.44.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MP shares. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of MP Materials from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of MP Materials from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on MP Materials from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised MP Materials from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $23.00 to $34.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 199,180 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.08, for a total value of $5,393,794.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 13,643,076 shares in the company, valued at $369,454,498.08. The trade was a 1.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of MP Materials

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MP. NBC Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of MP Materials by 119,900.0% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,200 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,199 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management increased its holdings in MP Materials by 132.7% in the 1st quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,403 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in MP Materials in the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in MP Materials during the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in MP Materials by 40.3% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,441 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MP Materials Stock Down 1.9%

MP Materials stock traded down $0.63 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $31.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,886,581 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,719,234. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 4.12 and a quick ratio of 3.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -48.84 and a beta of 2.26. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $26.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.01. MP Materials has a 52-week low of $10.02 and a 52-week high of $39.10.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.02). MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 9.77% and a negative net margin of 48.41%. The firm had revenue of $60.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.74 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.04) EPS. The business's revenue was up 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that MP Materials will post -0.19 EPS for the current 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.