MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading 4.6% Higher - What's Next?

Key Points

• MP Materials shares rose 4.6% to approximately $43.18 in midday trading, with volume below the stock’s average daily level.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive outlook, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $79.42, despite several recent target-price reductions.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.03 in EPS and $90.65 million in revenue, up 49.1% year over year; however, it remains unprofitable with a negative net margin.

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 4.6% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $43.22 and last traded at $43.1840. Approximately 4,875,509 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 26% from the average daily volume of 6,553,220 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.30.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $81.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of MP Materials from $70.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on MP Materials from $70.00 to $71.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 price target on MP Materials in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MP Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $79.42.

MP Materials Trading Up 4.6%

The stock has a market cap of $7.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -102.82 and a beta of 1.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 6.58 and a current ratio of 7.18. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $56.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.89.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal bought 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $54.30 per share, with a total value of $543,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 136,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,418,574.60. This trade represents a 7.90% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 185,167 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.14, for a total value of $12,802,446.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,620,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at $803,461,973.72. This trade represents a 1.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 905,167 shares of company stock worth $60,161,837. Corporate insiders own 8.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials during the 4th quarter worth $82,531,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 76.3% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,921,542 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,264,243 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of 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 boosted its holdings in MP Materials by 7.2% in the third quarter. Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd now owns 14,861,212 shares of the company's stock worth $996,741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in MP Materials by 1,320.8% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 954,317 shares of the company's stock worth $70,934,000 after purchasing an additional 887,148 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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