MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Up 25.8% - Time to Buy?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) shares shot up 25.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $62.87 and last traded at $61.03. 38,361,788 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 600% from the average session volume of 5,483,841 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.52.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MP. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $33.00 price objective (up previously from $32.00) on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Monday, July 7th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $27.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of MP Materials from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $23.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MP Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.56.

MP Materials Stock Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $30.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.29 billion, a PE ratio of -96.80 and a beta of 2.26. The company has a quick ratio of 3.58, a current ratio of 4.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $60.81 million during 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 was up 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.04) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of MP Materials

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in MP Materials by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,079,668 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,843,000 after acquiring an additional 144,661 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $399,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,284,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in MP Materials by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 23,179 shares of the company's stock valued at $362,000 after acquiring an additional 2,240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in MP Materials by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 243,900 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,805,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.