MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading 5.3% Higher - Here's Why

Key Points

• Shares jumped 5.3% to about $69.24 on Wednesday on below-average volume; MP Materials has a $12.3 billion market cap and a consensus analyst price target of $79.08 with an overall "Buy" rating.
• Quarterly results showed an EPS beat of $0.09 versus $0.02 expected, but revenue missed at $52.69 million versus $76.06 million estimated and the company still reports a negative net margin (-38.26%) with revenue down year-over-year.
• Significant insider selling: the CFO sold 46,000 shares and the CEO sold 259,179 shares recently, with insiders selling 346,000 shares (~$21.97M) in the last 90 days; insiders own 12.6% of the stock while institutions hold 52.55%.

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) shares traded up 5.3% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $69.43 and last traded at $69.2440. 6,044,144 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 15% from the average session volume of 7,117,141 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.76.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of MP Materials from $71.00 to $62.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Securities raised MP Materials to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $79.08.

MP Materials Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $12.30 billion, a PE ratio of -133.16 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 6.67 and a current ratio of 7.24. The business's 50 day moving average is $56.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.78.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.07. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 38.26% and a negative return on equity of 4.28%. The business had revenue of $52.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.06 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.12) EPS. MP Materials's revenue was down 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 46,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $2,760,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 129,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,741,020. The trade was a 26.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 259,179 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total transaction of $16,595,231.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,505,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at $800,756,938.95. This represents a 2.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 346,000 shares of company stock valued at $21,969,816 over the last ninety days. 12.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of MP Materials

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EMC Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of MP Materials by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 364 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of MP Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 555.3% in the fourth quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. now owns 557 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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