MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Sees Large Volume Increase - Here's What Happened

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) shares saw strong trading volume on Friday . 6,660,257 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 57% from the previous session's volume of 4,247,584 shares.The stock last traded at $29.16 and had previously closed at $29.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of MP Materials from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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 note on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of MP Materials from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of MP Materials from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $25.61.

MP Materials Trading Up 4.1%

The business's 50-day moving average price is $23.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.49. The company has a market cap of $4.97 billion, a P/E ratio of -51.51 and a beta of 2.14. 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 (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $60.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.74 million. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 32.09% and a negative return on equity of 8.44%. The business's revenue was up 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.04) EPS. As a group, analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 489,918 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total value of $13,115,104.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 15,153,158 shares in the company, valued at $405,650,039.66. The trade was a 3.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 15,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total transaction of $405,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 214,812 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,799,924. This trade represents a 6.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 883,792 shares of company stock valued at $23,755,967. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of MP Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MP. NBC Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of MP Materials by 119,900.0% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,199 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management raised its position in shares of MP Materials by 132.7% in the 1st quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,403 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of MP Materials by 40.3% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,441 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.