MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Up 2.5% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• MP Materials Corp. shares increased by 2.5% to $72.35, significantly surpassing the average trading volume with 24,654,371 shares traded.
• Analysts have mixed views on the stock, with one rating it Strong Buy and several brokerages raising their target prices, the highest being $80.00 by Jefferies Financial Group.
• The company reported a revenue increase of 83.6% year-over-year, totaling $57.39 million, while its earnings per share were ($0.13), beating expectations.

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) shot up 2.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $78.32 and last traded at $72.35. 24,654,371 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 152% from the average session volume of 9,797,585 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.59.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MP. Wall Street Zen raised shares of MP Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of MP Materials from $18.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Friday, August 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of MP Materials from $20.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of MP Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.00.

MP Materials Stock Up 2.5%

The business's 50 day moving average price is $69.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.81 billion, a PE ratio of -114.84 and a beta of 2.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 3.12 and a current ratio of 3.60.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 41.87% and a negative return on equity of 9.34%. The business had revenue of $57.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.84 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.17) EPS. The business's revenue was up 83.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal sold 150,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.02, for a total transaction of $10,803,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,284,409 shares of the company's stock, valued at $92,503,136.18. This represents a 10.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 942,105 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in MP Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $132,238,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in MP Materials by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,033,612 shares of the company's stock worth $100,928,000 after buying an additional 378,510 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of MP Materials by 76.3% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,921,542 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,264,243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of MP Materials by 19,314.3% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,013,462 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,987,000 after purchasing an additional 2,003,091 shares during the last quarter. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.