MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading Up 4.5% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Shares were up 4.5% on Thursday (intraday high $63.12, last $62.18) while trading volume was ~5.15M (down 28% vs. average); analysts hold a consensus "Buy" rating with an average price target of $78.09 amid mixed recent revisions.
• MP reported $0.09 EPS (beat $0.02 est.) but revenue of $52.69M missed expectations of $76.06M, with revenue down 13.6% year‑over‑year and the company showing a negative net margin (-38.26%) and negative return on equity.
• CFO Ryan Corbett sold 46,000 shares for about $2.76M (a 26% reduction in his holding); insiders own 9.5% of the stock while institutional investors hold 52.55%.

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) shares were up 4.5% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $63.12 and last traded at $62.18. Approximately 5,151,424 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 28% from the average daily volume of 7,124,037 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.52.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on MP shares. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of MP Materials from $71.00 to $62.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. 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, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MP Materials currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $78.09.

MP Materials Stock Up 4.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 6.67 and a current ratio of 7.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.05 billion, a PE ratio of -119.58 and a beta of 1.67. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $56.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.98.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $52.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $76.06 million. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 38.26% and a negative return on equity of 4.28%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.12) EPS. On average, analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 46,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 129,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,741,020. The trade was a 26.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of MP Materials

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Costello Asset Management INC lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 1,300 shares of the company's stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Composition Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Composition Wealth LLC now owns 18,334 shares of the company's stock worth $926,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 28.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 806 shares of the company's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 18,162 shares of the company's stock worth $1,218,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 11,824 shares of the company's stock worth $872,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is 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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