MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Falls 3.4% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• MP Materials shares fell 3.4% to about $40.18, with trading volume below its average. The stock remains well below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $71.92, despite Morgan Stanley and Barclays recently lowering their targets.
• The company reported quarterly revenue of $108.49 million, up 89% year over year and above estimates, while matching expectations with an EPS loss of $0.01. Institutional investors own approximately 52.55% of the stock.

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) shares dropped 3.4% on Friday. The company traded as low as $39.88 and last traded at $40.1810. Approximately 5,593,750 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 13% from the average daily volume of 6,425,128 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.61.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on MP Materials from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered MP Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, October 11th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of MP Materials from $69.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.92.

MP Materials Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $7.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -118.18 and a beta of 1.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 9.51 and a quick ratio of 8.56. The business's fifty day moving average price is $51.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.66.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01). MP Materials had a negative net margin of 19.85% and a negative return on equity of 1.21%. The business had revenue of $108.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $96.89 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.13) EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 89.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.20 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials during the second quarter worth $65,230,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in MP Materials by 5.1% during the 2nd 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 period. Amundi grew its position in shares of MP Materials by 260.2% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 385,001 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,580,000 after buying an additional 278,126 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of 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. Finally, Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the second quarter valued at about $10,648,000. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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