MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading Up 2.5% - What's Next?

Key Points

• MP Materials shares rose 2.5% in mid-day trading, reaching as high as $56.82, with volume running above average. The stock was trading below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Wall Street sentiment remains mostly bullish, with several analysts reiterating Buy or Outperform ratings and a consensus target price of $81.00. However, Weiss Ratings maintained a Sell (D-) rating, showing some disagreement.
• Recent quarterly results beat expectations, as MP Materials posted $0.03 EPS versus an expected loss and revenue of $90.65 million, up 49.1% year over year. The company also reported notable insider selling in recent months, including sales by the CFO and CEO.

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) shares were up 2.5% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $56.82 and last traded at $56.2850. Approximately 7,654,150 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 9% from the average daily volume of 7,041,570 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.93.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MP shares. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MP Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.00.

MP Materials Trading Up 2.5%

The company has a market cap of $10.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -134.01 and a beta of 1.90. The stock's 50-day moving average is $58.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 7.18 and a quick ratio of 6.58.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.04. The company had revenue of $90.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $74.82 million. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 28.00% and a negative return on equity of 2.27%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 49.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.12) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 46,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 129,017 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,020. This represents a 26.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 259,179 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $800,756,938.95. The trade was 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 666,000 shares of company stock worth $43,103,382. 8.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Alexander Labrunerie & CO. Inc. bought a new position in MP Materials in the first quarter worth approximately $1,034,000. South Dakota Investment Council raised its position in MP Materials by 516.1% in the first quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 51,809 shares of the company's stock worth $2,500,000 after acquiring an additional 43,400 shares during the period. Amundi raised its position in MP Materials by 260.2% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 385,001 shares of the company's stock worth $18,580,000 after acquiring an additional 278,126 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in MP Materials by 41.0% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,336 shares of the company's stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in MP Materials by 22.7% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 164,054 shares of the company's stock worth $7,917,000 after acquiring an additional 30,326 shares during the period. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by 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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