First Trust Advisors LP Decreases Holdings in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its position in shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Free Report) by 18.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 685,738 shares of the company's stock after selling 153,664 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.42% of MP Materials worth $10,698,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in MP Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $6,019,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,330,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in MP Materials by 150.2% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 121,392 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,895,000 after purchasing an additional 72,868 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in MP Materials by 57.2% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 7,852 shares of the company's stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 2,858 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,284,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.55% of the company's stock.

MP Materials Stock Performance

Shares of MP traded up $0.67 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $25.01. 3,270,502 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,608,909. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -42.39 and a beta of 2.24. MP Materials Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $10.02 and a fifty-two week high of $29.72. The business's 50 day moving average is $24.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.71. The company has a current ratio of 6.93, a quick ratio of 6.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.05). MP Materials had a negative net margin of 32.09% and a negative return on equity of 8.44%. The company had revenue of $60.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $50.71 million. On average, equities analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 60,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.51, for a total value of $1,530,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 230,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,869,851. The trade was a 20.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 489,918 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total value of $13,115,104.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,153,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $405,650,039.66. This trade represents a 3.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,330,015 shares of company stock worth $34,559,781 in the last three months. Insiders own 12.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of MP Materials from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on MP Materials from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.94.

MP Materials Company Profile

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.