MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Down 3.5% - Should You Sell?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) shares were down 3.5% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $31.83 and last traded at $32.11. Approximately 1,767,753 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 4,678,177 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.27.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on MP. Morgan Stanley raised MP Materials from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $23.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. DA Davidson increased their target price 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. dropped their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on MP Materials from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, MP Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.44.

MP Materials Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $5.14 billion, a PE ratio of -48.37 and a beta of 2.25. 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's 50 day moving average price is $26.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.72.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 9.77% and a negative net margin of 48.41%. The business had revenue of $60.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.74 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.04) earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 199,180 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.08, for a total value of $5,393,794.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 13,643,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $369,454,498.08. The trade was a 1.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 12.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NBC Securities Inc. raised its holdings 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 during the period. MAI Capital Management grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in MP Materials during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 40.3% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,441 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.55% of the company's stock.

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.