MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Falls 6.1% - Here's Why

Key Points

• MP Materials shares fell 6.1% to about $39.82 in mid-day trading, with volume 56% above its average session level.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $75, despite some target reductions and two sell ratings.
• The company matched quarterly EPS expectations at a $0.01 loss while revenue reached $108.49 million, up 89% year over year; however, it continues to report negative margins and analysts expect a full-year loss.

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) fell 6.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $39.05 and last traded at $39.8210. Approximately 10,038,194 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 56% from the average session volume of 6,426,862 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.43.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on MP Materials from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered MP Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on MP Materials from $81.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MP Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.00.

MP Materials Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $51.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.81. 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 $7.09 billion, a PE ratio of -117.12 and a beta of 1.98.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 analyst estimates of $96.89 million. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 19.85% and a negative return on equity of 1.21%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 89.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.13) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.20 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. EMC Capital Management acquired a new stake in MP Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp raised its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 73.3% in the 2nd quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 520 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Markowski Investments acquired a new stake in MP Materials in the second quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Archer Investment Corp boosted its position in shares of MP Materials by 990.1% during the 1st quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 1,101 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.55% of the company's stock.

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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