MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) Short Interest Down 13.5% in May

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 26,930,000 shares, a decrease of 13.5% from the April 30th total of 31,120,000 shares. Approximately 22.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 5,680,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.7 days.

Insider Activity

In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 199,180 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.08, for a total transaction of $5,393,794.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,643,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $369,454,498.08. The trade was a 1.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total transaction of $405,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 214,812 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,799,924. This trade represents a 6.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 943,792 shares of company stock worth $25,286,567. Insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of MP Materials by 119,900.0% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,200 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management lifted its position in MP Materials by 132.7% during the 1st quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,403 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in shares of MP Materials in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in MP Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased 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 worth $38,000 after buying an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.55% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of MP Materials from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $23.61.

MP Materials Price Performance

MP Materials stock traded up $2.60 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $24.60. 11,078,854 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,921,715. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -41.69 and a beta of 2.14. The business's 50-day moving average is $23.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 6.13 and a current ratio of 6.93. MP Materials has a 12 month low of $10.02 and a 12 month high of $29.72.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.02). MP Materials had a negative net margin of 32.09% and a negative return on equity of 8.44%. The business had revenue of $60.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.74 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.04) earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 24.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that MP Materials will post -0.19 EPS for the current fiscal 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.