MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Down 4.4% - Here's What Happened

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) shares were down 4.4% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $29.92 and last traded at $29.82. Approximately 1,665,290 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 4,731,746 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.19.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. 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 research report on Thursday, June 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $33.00 price target (up previously from $32.00) on shares of MP Materials in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on MP Materials from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on MP Materials from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MP Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $28.06.

MP Materials Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $26.89 and a 200-day moving average of $24.26. The company has a current ratio of 4.12, a quick ratio of 3.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $7.42 billion, a PE ratio of -69.82 and a beta of 2.26.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $64.74 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 9.77% and a negative net margin of 48.41%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 24.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.04) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 199,180 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.08, for a total value of $5,393,794.40. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 9.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in MP Materials by 44.3% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,537,511 shares of the company's stock valued at $101,986,000 after purchasing an additional 2,005,505 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in MP Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,288,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in MP Materials by 429.3% during the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 1,257,282 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $14,886,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of MP Materials by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,662,567 shares of the company's stock valued at $333,503,000 after purchasing an additional 942,105 shares during the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.