MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Down 2% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• MP Materials shares fell 2% to $53.66 in midday trading, with volume 43% below the average session level.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $78.21 target price, although several firms recently lowered their targets.
• 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 analyst estimates.

Shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) were down 2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $52.35 and last traded at $53.66. Approximately 3,748,813 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 6,619,937 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.75.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered MP Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on MP Materials from $70.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on MP Materials from $81.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of MP Materials from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, MP Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $78.21.

MP Materials Trading Down 2.0%

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -157.82 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a current ratio of 9.51, a quick ratio of 8.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.01). MP Materials had a negative net margin of 19.85% and a negative return on equity of 1.21%. The company had revenue of $108.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $96.89 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.13) earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 89.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

In other news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 185,167 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.14, for a total value of $12,802,446.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,620,798 shares in the company, valued at $803,461,973.72. This represents a 1.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal bought 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $54.30 per share, for a total transaction of $543,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer owned 136,622 shares in the company, valued at $7,418,574.60. This trade represents a 7.90% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 8.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MP. EMC Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MP Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp grew its position in shares of MP Materials by 73.3% during the second quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 520 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 52.55% of the company's stock.

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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