MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Up 6.7% - What's Next?

Key Points

• MP Materials shares rose 6.7% to $54.52 in active trading, with volume 57% above its average session level.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: the stock has a consensus “Buy” rating and a $78.21 average price target, despite recent target reductions from Needham and JPMorgan.
• The company’s latest quarter showed revenue of $108.49 million, up 89% year over year and above estimates, while it met the expected loss of $0.01 per share; however, MP Materials continues to report negative margins and return on equity.

Shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) traded up 6.7% on Monday . The company traded as high as $55.67 and last traded at $54.52. Approximately 10,514,171 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 57% from the average session volume of 6,686,793 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.11.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on MP. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on MP Materials from $81.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Friday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on MP Materials from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wedbush increased their price objective 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, Citigroup reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MP Materials presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $78.21.

MP Materials Price Performance

The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $52.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.45. The company has a market capitalization of $9.71 billion, a PE ratio of -160.35 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 9.51 and a quick ratio of 8.56.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.01). The company had revenue of $108.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $96.89 million. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 19.85% and a negative return on equity of 1.21%. The firm's revenue was up 89.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.13) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post 0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In other news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 185,167 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.14, for a total transaction of $12,802,446.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,620,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $803,461,973.72. This represents a 1.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $54.30 per share, with a total value of $543,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer directly owned 136,622 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,418,574.60. This represents a 7.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 885,167 shares of company stock worth $58,661,837. 8.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MP. EMC Capital Management purchased a new position in MP Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new position in MP Materials during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.55% of the company's stock.

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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