MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Down 6.2% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• MP Materials shares fell 6.2% to about $43.30, with trading volume slightly above average. The stock remains below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages of $51.86 and $54.96, respectively.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $75 price target, although several firms recently lowered their targets and Zacks Research issued a “Strong Sell” rating.
• The company reported revenue of $108.49 million, up 89% year over year and above estimates, but remained unprofitable with a negative net margin and analysts forecasting a full-year loss. Institutional investors own 52.55% of the stock.

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) traded down 6.2% on Monday. The stock traded as low as $43.17 and last traded at $43.2970. Approximately 6,822,096 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 6% from the average session volume of 6,413,006 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.14.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MP shares. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on MP Materials from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Citigroup restated a "positive" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Zacks Research cut shares of MP Materials from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Freedom Broker began coverage on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.00.

MP Materials Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $7.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -127.34 and a beta of 1.98. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $51.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.96. The company has a quick ratio of 8.56, a current ratio of 9.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $108.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $96.89 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 1.21% and a negative net margin of 19.85%. The firm's revenue was up 89.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.13) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp grew its position in MP Materials by 5.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,773,746 shares of the company's stock worth $435,408,000 after buying an additional 376,519 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $65,230,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of MP Materials by 32.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 919,083 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,355,000 after acquiring an additional 225,009 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 564,808 shares of the company's stock worth $31,635,000 after acquiring an additional 8,556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 32.5% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 509,946 shares of the company's stock worth $28,562,000 after acquiring an additional 124,945 shares in the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About MP Materials

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 produces rare earth concentrate, with a focus on neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr), materials used in high-strength permanent magnets.

The company is expanding its operations beyond mining and concentrate production by developing domestic capabilities to separate rare earth elements and manufacture neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets.

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