MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Upgraded to Overweight at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Free Report) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Morgan Stanley currently has $34.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $23.00.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of MP Materials from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of MP Materials from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of MP Materials from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $25.61.

MP Materials Trading Down 1.0%

MP Materials stock traded down $0.26 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $25.67. The stock had a trading volume of 8,747,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,026,950. The stock has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a PE ratio of -43.51 and a beta of 2.14. MP Materials has a 52 week low of $10.02 and a 52 week high of $29.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 6.93 and a quick ratio of 6.13. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.14.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $60.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.74 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 8.44% and a negative net margin of 32.09%. MP Materials's revenue was up 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.04) EPS. Analysts forecast that MP Materials will post -0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.51, for a total transaction of $1,530,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 230,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,869,851. The trade was a 20.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 489,918 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total transaction of $13,115,104.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,153,158 shares in the company, valued at $405,650,039.66. The trade was a 3.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 943,792 shares of company stock valued at $25,286,567. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MP. NBC Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 119,900.0% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,199 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 132.7% during the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,403 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 40.3% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,441 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 701 shares during 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.