MP Materials (NYSE:MP) CEO James Litinsky Sells 40,821 Shares

Key Points

• CEO James Litinsky sold 40,821 shares on April 17 at an average price of $64.05 for about $2.61 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, leaving him with 12,765,144 shares (a 0.32% reduction in ownership).
• MP stock traded up to $66.24 on heavy volume, sits in a one-year range of $18.64–$100.25, and has a market capitalization of about $11.77 billion with a negative P/E of -127.38.
• MP reported quarterly EPS of $0.09 (beating estimates) but missed on revenue and showed negative margins, while analysts maintain a consensus Buy rating with an average target of $79.08 (several firms issued buy/outperform notes, including a $90 target from Wedbush).

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) CEO James Litinsky sold 40,821 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.05, for a total value of $2,614,585.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,765,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $817,607,473.20. This represents a 0.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

MP Materials Price Performance

MP stock traded up $5.25 during trading on Monday, reaching $66.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,925,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,099,579. MP Materials Corp. has a 1 year low of $18.64 and a 1 year high of $100.25. 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 company has a market capitalization of $11.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -127.38 and a beta of 1.67. The company's fifty day moving average is $56.70 and its 200-day moving average is $60.82.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MP shares. TD Securities upgraded MP Materials to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Wedbush started coverage on MP Materials in a research note on Monday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $90.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $79.08.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of MP Materials by 420.0% during the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 364 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. EMC Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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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