MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Up 46.1% - Here's Why

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 46.1% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $48.12 and last traded at $43.86. 48,200,863 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 871% from the average session volume of 4,963,921 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.03.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of MP Materials from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of MP Materials from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of MP Materials from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $23.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of MP Materials from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $28.06.

MP Materials Stock Up 46.9%

The business's 50 day simple moving average is $26.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.26. The company has a market cap of $7.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -67.88 and a beta of 2.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 3.58 and a current ratio of 4.12.

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 business had revenue of $60.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.74 million. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 48.41% and a negative return on equity of 9.77%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 24.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.04) EPS. Sell-side 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 firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.08, for a total value of $5,393,794.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 13,643,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $369,454,498.08. This trade represents a 1.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in MP Materials in the 4th quarter worth $6,284,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in MP Materials in the 4th quarter worth $399,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in MP Materials by 52.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,750 shares of the company's stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 1,975 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in MP Materials in the 4th quarter worth $388,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in MP Materials by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,118,580 shares of the company's stock worth $33,050,000 after purchasing an additional 7,453 shares during the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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