MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading Down 1.9% - What's Next?

Key Points

• MP Materials shares fell 1.9% in mid-day trading, hitting as low as $54.07 before last trading at $55.46, with volume running well below average.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish despite the pullback: the stock has an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of about $80.14, with several firms recently lifting targets into the low $80s.
• Recent earnings showed improvement, as MP Materials posted $0.03 EPS versus expectations for a loss and revenue rose 49.1% year over year to $90.65 million, though the company still has negative margins and analysts expect a small loss for the full year.

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) shares were down 1.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $54.07 and last traded at $55.46. Approximately 3,787,251 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 6,857,622 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.51.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MP Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC started coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Monday, June 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $80.14.

MP Materials Trading Down 1.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 7.18 and a quick ratio of 6.58. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.63. The firm has a market cap of $9.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -132.05 and a beta of 1.86.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 185,167 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.14, for a total value of $12,802,446.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,620,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $803,461,973.72. This trade represents a 1.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 20,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 109,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,176,275. This represents a 15.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,205,167 shares of company stock worth $79,371,654. 8.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in MP Materials by 26.5% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 234,185 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,716,000 after purchasing an additional 49,052 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the first quarter worth approximately $215,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the first quarter worth approximately $219,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,793 shares of the company's stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 36.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 193,943 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,734,000 after purchasing an additional 51,348 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.55% of the company's stock.

MP Materials Company Profile

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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