MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading Down 1.9% - Here's What Happened

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 1.9% on Friday . The company traded as low as $31.54 and last traded at $31.75. Approximately 3,886,581 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 17% from the average daily volume of 4,708,244 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.37.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of MP Materials from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target 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. Morgan Stanley upgraded MP Materials from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $23.00 to $34.00 in a report on Thursday, June 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on MP Materials from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on MP Materials from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.44.

MP Materials Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a PE ratio of -48.84 and a beta of 2.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 3.58 and a current ratio of 4.12. The firm's 50 day moving average is $26.38 and its 200-day moving average is $23.87.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last posted 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). MP Materials had a negative net margin of 48.41% and a negative return on equity of 9.77%. The company had revenue of $60.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.74 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.04) earnings per share. MP Materials's revenue for the quarter was up 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at MP Materials

In other news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 199,180 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.08, for a total transaction of $5,393,794.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 13,643,076 shares in the company, valued at $369,454,498.08. The trade was a 1.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in MP Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,284,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $399,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $388,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,118,580 shares of the company's stock worth $33,050,000 after purchasing an additional 7,453 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials during the 4th quarter worth $156,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.55% of the company's stock.

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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