MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Reaches New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $48.12 and last traded at $45.39, with a volume of 86104247 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $30.03.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on MP shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $33.00 price objective (up from $32.00) on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of MP Materials from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of MP Materials from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $23.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of MP Materials from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $28.06.

MP Materials Stock Performance

The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $27.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 3.58 and a current ratio of 4.12. The company has a market cap of $7.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -69.82 and a beta of 2.26.

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

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 199,180 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.08, for a total transaction of $5,393,794.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 13,643,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $369,454,498.08. The trade was a 1.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in MP Materials by 2.8% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,955 shares of the company's stock worth $412,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. JT Stratford LLC grew its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 63,685 shares of the company's stock worth $993,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of MP Materials by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,793 shares of the company's stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in MP Materials by 16.5% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,566 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 505 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in MP Materials by 51.0% in the second quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,510 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.55% of the company's stock.

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.

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