MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Up 3.6% - Time to Buy?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) shares rose 3.6% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $36.91 and last traded at $36.67. Approximately 2,324,775 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 4,599,171 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.40.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Robert W. Baird raised 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of MP Materials from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $23.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.44.

MP Materials Price Performance

The stock's 50 day moving average price is $25.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.54. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $60.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.74 million. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 48.41% and a negative return on equity of 9.77%. The company's revenue was up 24.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.04) EPS. On average, analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 stock was sold at an average price of $27.08, for a total transaction 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 approximately $369,454,498.08. The trade was a 1.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 12.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of MP Materials

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in MP Materials by 119,900.0% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,200 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,199 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management lifted its position in shares of MP Materials by 132.7% during the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,403 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased 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 worth $38,000 after buying an additional 701 shares during the period. 52.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.