MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Gap Down - Here's Why

Shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $27.23, but opened at $25.25. MP Materials shares last traded at $24.95, with a volume of 5,387,901 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. DA Davidson raised their price target on MP Materials from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on MP Materials from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of MP Materials from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $23.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of MP Materials from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MP Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $25.61.

MP Materials Trading Up 14.0%

The company has a quick ratio of 6.13, a current ratio of 6.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The firm's 50 day moving average is $23.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.35. The stock has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -49.56 and a beta of 2.14.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $60.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.74 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.04) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 24.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at MP Materials

In other MP Materials 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 transaction of $5,393,794.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 230,100 shares of the company's stock, 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 quarter, insiders sold 943,792 shares of company stock worth $25,286,567. Insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of MP Materials

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. NBC Securities Inc. boosted 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 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 acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the first quarter worth $35,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in MP Materials during the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in MP Materials by 40.3% during the 4th 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. 52.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.