MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Cut to "Sell" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded MP Materials to “sell” from “hold,” adding to a mixed analyst backdrop even though the overall consensus rating remains “buy.”
• Other firms have recently trimmed price targets on the stock, including Needham, Deutsche Bank, and Barclays, while Wedbush raised its target; MarketBeat’s consensus target is $79.42.
• MP Materials’ latest quarter beat expectations with $0.03 EPS and $90.65 million in revenue, though the stock has fallen sharply and was trading near its 52-week low around $41.26.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on MP. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on MP Materials from $81.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of MP Materials from $70.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of MP Materials from $69.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $79.42.

MP Materials Stock Performance

MP opened at $41.26 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 7.18, a quick ratio of 6.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business's 50 day moving average is $56.34 and its 200-day moving average is $58.89. The stock has a market cap of $7.35 billion, a PE ratio of -98.25 and a beta of 1.86. MP Materials has a twelve month low of $41.12 and a twelve month high of $100.25.

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

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 234,651 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.87, for a total value of $15,456,461.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,855,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $780,952,414.55. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal acquired 17,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $56.62 per share, with a total value of $962,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 1,333,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,512,565.26. This represents a 1.29% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 905,167 shares of company stock valued at $60,161,837 over the last 90 days. 8.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of MP Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in MP Materials by 3.8% during the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 79,798 shares of the company's stock worth $4,469,000 after buying an additional 2,922 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of MP Materials by 1,679.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 41,561 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,328,000 after acquiring an additional 39,225 shares during the last quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $493,000. WMS Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. WMS Group LLC now owns 11,326 shares of the company's stock worth $634,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BankChampaign National Association boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. BankChampaign National Association now owns 10,368 shares of the company's stock worth $581,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About MP Materials

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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