MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Down 1.9% - What's Next?

Key Points

• MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) shares fell 1.9% to close at $68.47, with over 10.7 million shares traded, slightly above the average daily volume.
• Analyst ratings show a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $77.80, with recent upgrades from multiple research firms.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings beat expectations, reporting a revenue of $57.39 million and a smaller loss per share than anticipated.

Shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) dropped 1.9% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $68.10 and last traded at $68.47. Approximately 10,783,453 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 1% from the average daily volume of 10,657,798 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.80.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Cfra Research upgraded MP Materials to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on MP Materials in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $76.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $69.00 price objective on MP Materials in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on MP Materials from $64.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded MP Materials to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.80.

MP Materials Stock Down 1.9%

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.25. The firm has a market cap of $12.13 billion, a PE ratio of -108.68 and a beta of 2.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 3.60 and a quick ratio of 3.12.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.16) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $57.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.84 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 9.34% and a negative net margin of 41.87%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 83.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.17) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

In other news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal sold 150,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.02, for a total value of $10,803,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 1,284,409 shares in the company, valued at $92,503,136.18. The trade was a 10.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 9.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the second quarter worth approximately $241,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 52.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,750 shares of the company's stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 1,975 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in MP Materials in the first quarter worth approximately $687,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in MP Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,479,000. Finally, Cutler Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in MP Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $287,000. 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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