MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading Down 2.6% - Here's Why

Key Points

• MP Materials shares fell 2.6% on Wednesday, trading between $62.17 and $63.85 on lighter-than-average volume. The stock closed at $65.59 previously.
• Despite the dip, the company’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, posting $0.03 EPS versus an estimated loss of $0.01 and revenue of $90.65 million, up 49.1% year over year. Analysts still see the stock as a Buy overall, with a consensus price target of $81.00.
• Insider selling has been notable, including CEO James H. Litinsky’s 259,179-share sale and CFO Ryan Corbett’s 46,000-share sale. Insiders have sold 366,000 shares over the last 90 days, while institutional ownership remains high at 52.55%.

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) traded down 2.6% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $62.17 and last traded at $63.8520. 6,285,254 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 10% from the average session volume of 7,012,089 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.59.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wedbush upped their price target on MP Materials from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. TD Securities upgraded MP Materials to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Two equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.00.

MP Materials Trading Down 2.6%

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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -152.03 and a beta of 1.90.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 analyst estimates of $74.82 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.12) earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 49.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post 0.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 259,179 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 2.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 46,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 129,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,020. The trade was a 26.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 366,000 shares of company stock valued at $23,469,816 over the last 90 days. 8.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of MP Materials

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Signature Equity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 126.3% during the 1st quarter. Signature Equity Partners LLC now owns 3,986 shares of the company's stock valued at $192,000 after purchasing an additional 2,225 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 1.7% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 518,108 shares of the company's stock worth $25,004,000 after purchasing an additional 8,663 shares during the last quarter. Himension Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. increased its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 28.6% in the first quarter. Himension Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. now owns 135,016 shares of the company's stock worth $6,516,000 after purchasing an additional 30,054 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of MP Materials by 20.2% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 28,536 shares of the company's stock worth $1,377,000 after buying an additional 4,789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. lifted its position in shares of MP Materials by 50.1% in the first quarter. Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 22,270 shares of the company's stock worth $1,075,000 after buying an additional 7,438 shares in the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is currently 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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