MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Down 8.6% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• MP Materials Corp.'s stock experienced an 8.6% decline, trading as low as $57.15 on Monday, with increased trading volume of approximately 13.95 million shares compared to its average.
• Analysts are generally optimistic, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.80, despite the recent drop in stock price.
• Insider trading activity revealed COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal sold 150,000 shares at an average price of $72.02, reducing his ownership by 10.46% to approximately 1.28 million shares.

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 8.6% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $57.15 and last traded at $57.6850. Approximately 13,952,254 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 29% from the average daily volume of 10,777,356 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.09.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Friday, August 29th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of MP Materials from $32.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MP Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley set a $69.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of MP Materials from $52.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.80.

MP Materials Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 3.60, a quick ratio of 3.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The business's fifty day moving average is $71.31 and its 200 day moving average is $50.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -91.56 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) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.16) by $0.03. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 41.87% and a negative return on equity of 9.34%. The business had revenue of $57.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.84 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.17) EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 83.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In other news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal sold 150,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.02, for a total value 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 trade represents a 10.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 9.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its position in MP Materials by 28.1% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 806 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its position in MP Materials by 1.0% during the third quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 18,162 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,218,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in MP Materials by 1.7% during the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 11,824 shares of the company's stock valued at $872,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its position in MP Materials by 1.0% during the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 21,444 shares of the company's stock valued at $713,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in MP Materials by 3.7% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 7,516 shares of the company's stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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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