MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Down 3.7% - Here's What Happened

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) shares dropped 3.7% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $29.62 and last traded at $30.66. Approximately 2,653,623 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 4,711,925 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MP shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on MP Materials from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $33.00 target price (up previously from $32.00) on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley upgraded MP Materials from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $23.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on MP Materials from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MP Materials currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $28.06.

MP Materials Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 4.12, a quick ratio of 3.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.07. The firm has a market cap of $5.05 billion, a PE ratio of -47.59 and a beta of 2.26.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.02). MP Materials had a negative net margin of 48.41% and a negative return on equity of 9.77%. The company had revenue of $60.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.74 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.04) earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 24.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 199,180 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 13,643,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at $369,454,498.08. This represents a 1.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 12.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of MP Materials by 51.0% during the second quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,510 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in MP Materials by 36.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 193,943 shares of the company's stock worth $4,734,000 after buying an additional 51,348 shares during the period. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in MP Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $687,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its stake in MP Materials by 314.6% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 7,205 shares of the company's stock worth $176,000 after acquiring an additional 5,467 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in MP Materials by 429.3% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,550,124 shares of the company's stock worth $37,839,000 after acquiring an additional 1,257,282 shares in the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is owned by 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.

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