MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Up 1.9% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• MP Materials shares rose 1.9% to approximately $46.96 in mid-day trading, though trading volume was 32% below the average daily volume.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $75.42. Several firms recently lowered their targets, while Freedom Broker initiated coverage with a “Hold” rating and a $57 target.
• The company reported quarterly revenue of $108.49 million, up 89% year over year and above estimates, while meeting expectations with an adjusted loss of $0.01 per share. MP is also expanding from rare-earth mining into element separation and NdFeB magnet manufacturing.

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 1.9% during mid-day trading on Friday. The stock traded as high as $47.39 and last traded at $46.9630. Approximately 4,385,029 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 32% from the average daily volume of 6,454,791 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.09.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on MP. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target 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. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on MP Materials from $81.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Robert W. Baird lowered 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. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, Freedom Broker began coverage on MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $57.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.42.

MP Materials Trading Up 1.9%

The firm has a market cap of $8.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -138.12 and a beta of 1.98. The company's 50-day moving average price is $51.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.33. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $96.89 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.13) earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 89.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of MP Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MP. State Street Corp raised its stake in MP Materials by 5.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,773,746 shares of the company's stock worth $435,408,000 after purchasing an additional 376,519 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in MP Materials by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,544,743 shares of the company's stock valued at $128,587,000 after acquiring an additional 197,375 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in MP Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $82,531,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in MP Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $65,230,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in MP Materials by 32.4% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 919,083 shares of the company's stock worth $44,355,000 after purchasing an additional 225,009 shares during the period. 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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