MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading Down 4.4% - Here's Why

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MP. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $33.00 price target (up previously from $32.00) on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on MP Materials from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on MP Materials from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley raised MP Materials from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $23.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $28.06.

MP Materials Stock Down 3.8%

The firm has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -46.15 and a beta of 2.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 4.12 and a quick ratio of 3.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $26.78 and a 200-day moving average of $24.22.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $60.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.74 million. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 48.41% and a negative return on equity of 9.77%. The company'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 business posted ($0.04) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 199,180 shares of the firm'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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 13,643,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at $369,454,498.08. This trade represents a 1.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 12.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JT Stratford LLC increased its holdings in MP Materials by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 63,685 shares of the company's stock valued at $993,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of MP Materials by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,793 shares of the company's stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of MP Materials by 16.5% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,566 shares of the company's stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of MP Materials by 51.0% during the second quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,510 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of MP Materials by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,650 shares of the company's stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares in the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MP Materials Company Profile

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.

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