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

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $30.03, but opened at $48.10. MP Materials shares last traded at $45.52, with a volume of 37,973,495 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on MP shares. Morgan Stanley raised MP Materials from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $23.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on MP Materials from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $33.00 price objective (up from $32.00) on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Monday, July 7th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on MP Materials from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $31.28.

MP Materials Trading Down 0.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $7.37 billion, a PE ratio of -69.32 and a beta of 2.26. The company has a current ratio of 4.12, a quick ratio of 3.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $27.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.77.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $60.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.04) EPS. Analysts expect 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 company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 13,643,076 shares in the company, valued at $369,454,498.08. This represents a 1.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 12.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 942,105 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 44.3% during the 4th 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 during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 25.3% during the 1st 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 period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,207,017 shares of the company's stock worth $34,433,000 after purchasing an additional 176,121 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 73.7% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,657,299 shares of the company's stock worth $40,455,000 after purchasing an additional 703,042 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.