MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Up 6.3% - Here's Why

Key Points

• MP Materials shares rose 6.3% to about $43.97, with 5.56 million shares traded, below the stock’s average volume.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with an average “Buy” rating and a $78.21 price target, despite several firms recently lowering their targets.
• The company beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.03 in adjusted EPS versus a $0.01 loss estimate and revenue of $90.65 million, up 49.1% year over year.

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 6.3% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $44.38 and last traded at $43.9660. 5,555,613 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 16% from the average session volume of 6,583,795 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.37.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MP. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on MP Materials from $70.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Friday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on MP Materials from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 price objective on MP Materials in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of MP Materials from $81.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $78.21.

MP Materials Trading Up 6.3%

The company has a current ratio of 7.18, a quick ratio of 6.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $54.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -104.68 and a beta of 1.86.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $90.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $74.82 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 2.27% and a negative net margin of 28.00%.The firm's revenue was up 49.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.12) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post 0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In other news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal purchased 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $54.30 per share, for a total transaction of $543,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer directly owned 136,622 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,418,574.60. This represents a 7.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 185,167 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.14, for a total value of $12,802,446.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,620,798 shares in the company, valued at $803,461,973.72. This represents a 1.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 905,167 shares of company stock valued at $60,161,837. 8.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. EMC Capital Management purchased a new position in MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. boosted its position in shares of MP Materials by 555.3% during the 4th quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. now owns 557 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the period. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About MP Materials

MP Materials Corporation operates as a vertically integrated producer of rare earth materials in North America. The company owns and manages the Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine and Processing Facility in California, the only commercially viable rare earth mining and processing site in the United States. MP Materials extracts, separates and refines critical rare earth elements—such as neodymium, praseodymium, and cerium—which are essential inputs for permanent magnets used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, and various defense applications.

The Mountain Pass mine first began commercial rare earth production in the 1950s and was later operated by Molycorp until its bankruptcy in 2015.

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