MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Down 2.8% - Time to Sell?

Shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) fell 2.8% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $35.54 and last traded at $35.54. 2,994,698 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 34% from the average session volume of 4,564,647 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.56.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of MP Materials from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of MP Materials from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised MP Materials from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.06.

MP Materials Trading Up 1.4%

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 company has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a P/E ratio of -54.48 and a beta of 2.14. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $25.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.32.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $60.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.74 million. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 48.41% and a negative return on equity of 9.77%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 24.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.04) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 199,180 shares of the business's 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 now directly owns 13,643,076 shares in the company, valued at $369,454,498.08. The trade was a 1.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MP. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in MP Materials in the 1st quarter worth $687,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 314.6% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 7,205 shares of the company's stock valued at $176,000 after purchasing an additional 5,467 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of MP Materials by 429.3% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,550,124 shares of the company's stock worth $37,839,000 after purchasing an additional 1,257,282 shares during the last quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in MP Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $4,953,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in MP Materials by 35.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 19,775 shares of the company's stock worth $483,000 after buying an additional 5,181 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.55% of the company's stock.

About MP Materials

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.