MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $37.22, but opened at $38.64. MP Materials shares last traded at $37.79, with a volume of 5,558,729 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on MP shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on MP Materials from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley raised shares of MP Materials from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $23.00 to $34.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of MP Materials from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of MP Materials from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $27.06.

MP Materials Stock Performance

The business's fifty day simple moving average is $24.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.01. The firm has a market cap of $6.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -58.08 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a current ratio of 4.12, a quick ratio of 3.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 199,180 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,643,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at $369,454,498.08. This trade represents a 1.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $687,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its position in shares of MP Materials by 314.6% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 7,205 shares of the company's stock valued at $176,000 after purchasing an additional 5,467 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in MP Materials by 429.3% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,550,124 shares of the company's stock worth $37,839,000 after purchasing an additional 1,257,282 shares during the period. Yaupon Capital Management LP bought a new position in MP Materials in the first quarter worth $4,953,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in MP Materials by 35.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 19,775 shares of the company's stock valued at $483,000 after buying an additional 5,181 shares during the period. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.