MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Up 2.7% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• MP Materials shares rose 2.7% on Tuesday, trading as high as $51.38 after opening around $49.50, though volume was well below average.
• Analysts remain generally upbeat on the stock, with an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $79.54, despite one recent cut to Deutsche Bank’s target.
• The company’s latest earnings beat expectations, posting $0.03 EPS and $90.65 million in revenue, while revenue jumped 49.1% year over year. Insider activity was mixed, with both selling and buying in recent months.

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) traded up 2.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $51.38 and last traded at $50.8490. 3,039,457 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 54% from the average session volume of 6,608,296 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Barclays initiated coverage on MP Materials in a report on Thursday, May 21st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $69.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Monday, June 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $81.00 price target on the stock. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of MP Materials from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $70.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MP Materials has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $79.54.

MP Materials Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $59.96 and a 200-day moving average of $59.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -121.07 and a beta of 1.86. The company has a quick ratio of 6.58, a current ratio of 7.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.04. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 2.27% and a negative net margin of 28.00%.The company had revenue of $90.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.82 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.12) earnings per share. MP Materials's revenue was up 49.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post 0.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In other news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 109,017 shares in the company, valued at $8,176,275. This represents a 15.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal acquired 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $54.30 per share, with a total value of $543,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer owned 136,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,418,574.60. This represents a 7.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,205,167 shares of company stock valued at $79,371,654. Insiders own 8.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $82,531,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in MP Materials by 76.3% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,921,542 shares of the company's stock worth $97,200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,264,243 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in MP Materials by 71.6% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,834,914 shares of the company's stock valued at $143,220,000 after purchasing an additional 1,183,307 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in MP Materials by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd now owns 14,861,212 shares of the company's stock valued at $996,741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in MP Materials by 1,320.8% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 954,317 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,934,000 after purchasing an additional 887,148 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.55% of the company's stock.

About MP Materials

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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