MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Up 2% - Time to Buy?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 2% on Friday . The company traded as high as $38.75 and last traded at $37.95. Approximately 5,558,729 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 23% from the average daily volume of 4,521,952 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson increased 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on MP Materials from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on MP Materials from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on MP Materials from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded MP Materials from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.06.

MP Materials Stock Up 1.1%

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 4.12 and a quick ratio of 3.58. The stock has a market cap of $6.15 billion, a PE ratio of -58.06 and a beta of 2.14.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.12) 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 analyst estimates of $64.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.04) EPS. The business's revenue was up 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 18,519 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total transaction of $500,013.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,842,256 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $373,740,912. The trade was a 0.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in MP Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,284,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in MP Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $399,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in MP Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $388,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in MP Materials by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,118,580 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,050,000 after acquiring an additional 7,453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in MP Materials by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 99,900 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,558,000 after acquiring an additional 6,800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.55% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.