MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Down 1.8% - Here's What Happened

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 1.8% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $31.54 and last traded at $31.77. Approximately 1,625,733 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 4,691,432 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.37.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on MP. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on MP Materials from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of MP Materials from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of MP Materials from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of MP Materials from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $23.00 to $34.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.44.

MP Materials Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $26.52 and a 200-day moving average of $23.96. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -48.84 and a beta of 2.26.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.02). MP Materials had a negative net margin of 48.41% and a negative return on equity of 9.77%. The company had revenue of $60.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.74 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.04) EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 24.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 199,180 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 13,643,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at $369,454,498.08. This trade represents a 1.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MP. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in MP Materials by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,662,567 shares of the company's stock worth $333,503,000 after acquiring an additional 942,105 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of MP Materials by 44.3% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,537,511 shares of the company's stock worth $101,986,000 after purchasing an additional 2,005,505 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in MP Materials by 25.3% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,655,102 shares of the company's stock worth $64,811,000 after purchasing an additional 536,522 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in MP Materials by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,432,389 shares of the company's stock worth $37,945,000 after purchasing an additional 73,297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in MP Materials by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,207,017 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,433,000 after purchasing an additional 176,121 shares in the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About MP Materials

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.