Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 411,771 Shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Free Report) by 15.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,122,224 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 411,771 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 1.76% of MP Materials worth $61,976,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MP. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in shares of MP Materials by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 180,391 shares of the company's stock worth $3,581,000 after purchasing an additional 723 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 156,211 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,101,000 after buying an additional 33,319 shares during the period. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. grew its position in MP Materials by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 133,718 shares of the company's stock worth $2,654,000 after buying an additional 6,145 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Telemus Capital LLC lifted its stake in MP Materials by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Telemus Capital LLC now owns 15,037 shares of the company's stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 1,262 shares during the period. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MP Materials Stock Performance

Shares of MP traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $16.01. 3,063,640 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,534,148. The company has a quick ratio of 9.54, a current ratio of 10.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 123.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.62 and a beta of 2.42. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $15.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.38. MP Materials Corp. has a 52 week low of $12.68 and a 52 week high of $26.53.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.05). MP Materials had a return on equity of 3.86% and a net margin of 9.59%. The firm had revenue of $41.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $47.40 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post 0.06 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MP shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on MP Materials from $36.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered MP Materials from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on MP Materials from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of MP Materials from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $15.50 in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.64.

MP Materials 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.