MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Down 7.5% - What's Next?

Key Points

• MP Materials shares fell 7.5% on Monday, trading as low as $55.05 after closing at $61.27, with volume running above average at 9.1 million shares.
• Despite the drop, analyst sentiment remains mostly positive: several firms recently raised targets or ratings, and the stock carries a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $81.
• The company’s latest quarter showed better-than-expected results, with EPS of $0.03 versus a loss estimate and revenue up 49.1% year over year, though insiders have been selling shares in recent months.

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) shares traded down 7.5% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $55.05 and last traded at $56.7030. 9,064,835 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 28% from the average session volume of 7,055,183 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.27.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wedbush raised their price objective on MP Materials from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. TD Securities upgraded MP Materials to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 price target on MP Materials in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.00.

MP Materials Stock Down 7.5%

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 firm has a market capitalization of $10.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -135.01 and a beta of 1.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $58.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.33.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.04. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 28.00% and a negative return on equity of 2.27%. The firm had revenue of $90.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.82 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.12) earnings per share. MP Materials's revenue for the quarter was up 49.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post 0.1 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 259,179 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $16,595,231.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,505,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at $800,756,938.95. This trade represents a 2.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 46,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $2,760,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 129,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,020. This represents a 26.28% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 666,000 shares of company stock worth $43,103,382 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 8.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Regal Partners Ltd acquired a new position in MP Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,149,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in MP Materials by 6.3% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 119,067 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,746,000 after acquiring an additional 7,015 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of MP Materials by 9.5% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 42,159 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,035,000 after purchasing an additional 3,670 shares during the period. Granahan Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of MP Materials by 8.0% during the first quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 138,658 shares of the company's stock worth $6,692,000 after purchasing an additional 10,241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials during the first quarter worth $475,000. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MP Materials Company Profile

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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