MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Falls 1.9% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• MP Materials shares fell 1.9% to about $42.52, with trading volume 21% below the daily average.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and a $75 average price target, despite several recent target cuts and two sell ratings.
• The company reported quarterly revenue of $108.49 million, up 89% year over year and above estimates, but remained unprofitable with a negative net margin; institutional investors own 52.55% of outstanding shares.

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) traded down 1.9% during trading on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $41.94 and last traded at $42.5210. 5,051,109 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 21% from the average daily volume of 6,409,785 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.36.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MP. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Friday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of MP Materials from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Freedom Broker began coverage on MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. They set a "hold" rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $81.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.00.

MP Materials Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $51.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.89. The company has a current ratio of 9.51, a quick ratio of 8.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market cap of $7.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -125.06 and a beta of 1.98.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.01) EPS 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 company 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 company posted ($0.13) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 89.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 376,519 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in MP Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $65,230,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in MP Materials by 32.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 919,083 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,355,000 after buying an additional 225,009 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in MP Materials by 1.5% in 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 buying an additional 8,556 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its position in MP Materials by 32.5% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 509,946 shares of the company's stock worth $28,562,000 after buying an additional 124,945 shares during the period. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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 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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