MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading Down 2.5% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• MP Materials shares fell 2.5% in mid-day trading, with volume below average as the stock traded around $49.50 after closing at $50.79 the previous day.
• Analysts remain generally bullish despite one sell rating: the stock has an average Buy rating and a consensus price target of $79.54, with several firms maintaining buy/overweight views.
• The company recently posted better-than-expected earnings, reporting $0.03 EPS on revenue of $90.65 million, while insiders sold shares and hedge funds continued to hold a large stake in the company.

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 2.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $48.57 and last traded at $49.4960. Approximately 3,191,488 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 52% from the average daily volume of 6,586,991 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.79.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup restated a "positive" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 price target on MP Materials in a report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on MP Materials from $70.00 to $71.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of MP Materials in a report on Friday, June 5th. Three equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $79.54.

MP Materials Stock Down 2.5%

The company has a quick ratio of 6.58, a current ratio of 7.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $8.81 billion, a PE ratio of -117.85 and a beta of 1.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $59.62 and a 200-day moving average of $59.33.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 259,179 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,505,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at $800,756,938.95. This trade represents a 2.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 1,205,167 shares of company stock valued at $79,371,654 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 8.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in MP Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $9,702,000. Polianta Ltd purchased a new stake in MP Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $1,227,000. Dorsey Wright & Associates lifted its holdings in MP Materials by 84.1% in the third quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates now owns 118,252 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,931,000 after acquiring an additional 54,031 shares during the period. MH & Associates Securities Management Corp ADV bought a new position in shares of MP Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,184,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials during the 4th quarter worth $2,451,000. 52.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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