MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading Up 8.2% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• MP Materials shares rose 8.2% to approximately $47.45, with trading volume 52% above the average session.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive view, with a consensus “Buy” rating and a $78.21 price target, despite several recent target-price cuts.
• The company beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.03 EPS versus a projected loss of $0.01 and revenue of $90.65 million, up 49.1% year over year.

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) traded up 8.2% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $48.45 and last traded at $47.4480. Approximately 10,010,222 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 52% from the average session volume of 6,607,378 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.84.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on MP Materials from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 price objective on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of MP Materials from $70.00 to $71.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of MP Materials from $81.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of MP Materials from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $78.21.

MP Materials Trading Up 8.2%

The company has a market cap of $8.45 billion, a PE ratio of -112.97 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 6.58 and a current ratio of 7.18. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.01.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.04. The business had revenue of $90.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 49.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.12) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post 0.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 109,017 shares in the company, valued at $8,176,275. This represents a 15.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal bought 17,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $56.62 per share, with a total value of $962,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 1,333,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,512,565.26. This represents a 1.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 905,167 shares of company stock worth $60,161,837. 8.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of MP Materials

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Costello Asset Management INC lifted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 1,300 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Composition Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in MP Materials by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Composition Wealth LLC now owns 18,334 shares of the company's stock valued at $926,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC increased its position in MP Materials by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC now owns 19,980 shares of the company's stock worth $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in MP Materials by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 21,444 shares of the company's stock worth $713,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its holdings in MP Materials by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 12,232 shares of the company's stock worth $618,000 after purchasing an additional 212 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 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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