MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Sees Strong Trading Volume - Here's Why

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) saw strong trading volume on Thursday . 6,805,866 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 73% from the previous session's volume of 3,937,837 shares.The stock last traded at $25.45 and had previously closed at $24.58.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on MP Materials from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on MP Materials from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on MP Materials from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded 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 note on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $25.61.

MP Materials Stock Down 1.0%

The company has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a PE ratio of -43.51 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 6.93 and a quick ratio of 6.13. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.14.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.02). MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 8.44% and a negative net margin of 32.09%. The firm had revenue of $60.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.74 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.04) EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 199,180 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.08, for a total value of $5,393,794.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,643,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at $369,454,498.08. This represents a 1.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 60,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.51, for a total value of $1,530,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 230,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,869,851. The trade was a 20.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 943,792 shares of company stock worth $25,286,567. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MP. NBC Securities Inc. raised its holdings 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 raised its stake in MP Materials by 132.7% during the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,403 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in MP Materials during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in MP Materials during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 701 shares during the period. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.