MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Down 4.7% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• MP Materials' stock price decreased by 4.7% to $71.16, with a significant increase in trading volume of 31% compared to the average session.
• Analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy," with target prices ranging from $64.00 to $80.00.
• The company reported an earnings per share (EPS) of ($0.13) for the last quarter, beating estimates while production revenue increased by 83.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 4.7% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $70.58 and last traded at $71.16. 12,452,263 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 31% from the average session volume of 9,495,148 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.70.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of MP Materials in a report on Monday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of MP Materials from $18.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of MP Materials from $64.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $65.00 price target on shares of MP Materials and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of MP Materials from $52.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.33.

MP Materials Stock Performance

The stock's 50 day moving average price is $67.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 3.12 and a current ratio of 3.60. The company has a market capitalization of $12.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -112.94 and a beta of 2.32.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.16) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $57.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.84 million. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 41.87% and a negative return on equity of 9.34%. MP Materials's quarterly revenue was up 83.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.17) EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at MP Materials

In related news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal sold 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.02, for a total transaction of $10,803,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,284,409 shares of the company's stock, valued at $92,503,136.18. This represents a 10.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 12.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in MP Materials by 7.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,662,567 shares of the company's stock worth $333,503,000 after acquiring an additional 942,105 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in shares of MP Materials in the second quarter valued at $132,238,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 14.3% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,033,612 shares of the company's stock valued at $100,928,000 after buying an additional 378,510 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 76.3% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,921,542 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,200,000 after buying an additional 1,264,243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 19,314.3% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,013,462 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,987,000 after buying an additional 2,003,091 shares in the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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