MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Up 3.3% on Insider Buying Activity

Key Points

• MP Materials shares rose 3.3% to $38.70 on Friday, with trading volume 23% above its daily average.
• Company insiders bought more than $3.35 million in shares: the CFO purchased 5,476 shares, a director bought 55,000, and the COO acquired 5,000.
• MP reported quarterly revenue of $147.7 million, up about 176% year over year and above estimates, and beat earnings expectations. Analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy,” with a $69.50 average price target.

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 3.3% on Friday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The company traded as high as $39.79 and last traded at $38.7030. Approximately 7,865,774 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 23% from the average daily volume of 6,395,684 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.45.

Specifically, CFO Ryan Corbett acquired 5,476 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $36.25 per share, for a total transaction of $198,505.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 114,493 shares in the company, valued at $4,150,371.25. This trade represents a 5.02% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Randall Weisenburger bought 55,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $36.00 per share, with a total value of $1,980,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 205,899 shares in the company, valued at $7,412,364. This trade represents a 36.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In other news, COO Michael Rosenthal bought 5,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $37.30 per share, with a total value of $186,500.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,365,673 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,939,602.90. This trade represents a 0.37% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on MP. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MP Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on MP Materials from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on MP Materials from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Zacks Research cut MP Materials from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on MP Materials from $81.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.50.

Latest MP Materials News

Investors following MP have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: MP’s third-quarter revenue jumped 176% year over year, driven by higher neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) prices, increased sales volumes and heavy rare earth sales. The results also beat analysts’ estimates, though investors are weighing whether the growth can continue. MP's Q3 Revenues Jump 176%
• Positive Sentiment: Company insiders—including the CFO, COO and a director—have made more than $3.35 million in reported stock purchases. The buys may be read as a vote of confidence; coverage also noted MP had begun saleable magnet shipments to General Motors. MP Materials Stock Rises After Insiders Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Investors bought 41,214 MP call options Friday, about 64% above typical volume. The activity may signal bullish positioning, though options trading alone does not establish the reason or direction of future moves.

MP Materials Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 6.04 and a current ratio of 6.75. The company's 50 day moving average price is $44.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.85. The company has a market cap of $6.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -175.92 and a beta of 2.05.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $147.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.37 million. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 9.90% and a negative return on equity of 0.05%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 175.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.10) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Toth Financial Advisory Corp raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in MP Materials by 2.0% during the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 11,866 shares of the company's stock valued at $547,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in MP Materials by 4.5% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,679 shares of the company's stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. NFSG Corp grew its stake in MP Materials by 5.0% in the first quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 5,387 shares of the company's stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC grew its stake in MP Materials by 4.4% in the third quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC now owns 6,123 shares of the company's stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.55% of the company's stock.

About MP Materials

MP Materials operates the Mountain Pass rare earth mine and processing facility in California. The site is a major North American source of rare earth materials, which are used in products such as electric vehicles, wind turbines, electronics and defense systems. The company mines and processes rare earth ore into concentrate and separated products, including neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr), a key input for high-strength permanent magnets. MP Materials is also developing domestic magnet manufacturing capabilities to extend its business further along the supply chain.

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