MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading 4.8% Higher - Should You Buy?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) shot up 4.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $39.10 and last traded at $37.19. 18,795,959 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 316% from the average session volume of 4,514,023 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.48.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MP has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of MP Materials from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on MP Materials from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on MP Materials from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley raised MP Materials from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $23.00 to $34.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on MP Materials from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $27.06.

MP Materials Trading Up 4.8%

The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $24.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.79. The company has a quick ratio of 3.58, a current ratio of 4.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.08 billion, a PE ratio of -57.22 and a beta of 2.14.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $60.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.74 million. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 48.41% and a negative return on equity of 9.77%. The company's revenue was up 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.04) EPS. Equities analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 18,519 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total value of $500,013.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,842,256 shares of the company's stock, valued at $373,740,912. This trade represents a 0.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in MP Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $6,284,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $399,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $388,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 0.4% during the fourth 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 lifted its stake in MP Materials by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 99,900 shares of the company's stock worth $1,558,000 after acquiring an additional 6,800 shares during the period. 52.55% of the stock is owned by 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.

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