MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Down 1.5% - Here's Why

Key Points

• MP Materials shares fell 1.5% to about $50.57, with trading volume below the stock’s average session volume.
• Analyst opinions are mixed: Morgan Stanley maintained an “overweight” rating, while several firms downgraded the stock. Despite this, the overall consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $78.21.
• The company matched quarterly EPS expectations at a loss of $0.01 while revenue reached $108.49 million, up 89% year over year and above estimates. MP Materials is expanding from rare-earth mining into separated products and magnet manufacturing.

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) fell 1.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $50.33 and last traded at $50.5680. 4,817,720 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 26% from the average session volume of 6,550,131 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.32.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of MP Materials from $70.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Zacks Research lowered shares of MP Materials from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Wall Street Zen cut MP Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $78.21.

MP Materials Stock Down 1.5%

The company has a 50-day moving average of $51.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 9.51 and a quick ratio of 8.56. The company has a market capitalization of $9.01 billion, a PE ratio of -148.73 and a beta of 1.94.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01). MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 1.21% and a negative net margin of 19.85%.The business had revenue of $108.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $96.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.13) earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 89.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EMC Capital Management bought a new position in shares of MP Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. REAP Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp lifted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 73.3% during the 2nd quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 520 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors own 52.55% of the company's stock.

MP Materials Company Profile

MP Materials Corp. is a rare earth materials company that owns and operates the Mountain Pass rare earth mine and processing facility in California. The site is one of the largest rare earth production facilities in the Western Hemisphere and produces rare earth concentrate, with an emphasis on neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr), materials used in high-performance permanent magnets.

The company is expanding its operations beyond mining and concentrate production into separated rare earth products and magnet manufacturing.

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