MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Jumps 4.3% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• MP Materials shares rose 4.3% to approximately $41.65, with trading volume slightly above average. The company has a $7.42 billion market capitalization and trades below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $71.92 price target, despite some firms downgrading the stock or reducing their targets.
• MP Materials reported quarterly revenue of $108.49 million, up 89% year over year and above expectations, while matching the consensus loss of $0.01 per share. The company is expanding from rare-earth mining into element separation and NdFeB magnet manufacturing.

Shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) traded up 4.3% during trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $41.71 and last traded at $41.6540. Approximately 6,564,281 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 2% from the average session volume of 6,429,126 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.95.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of MP Materials from $81.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Zacks Research lowered MP Materials from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on MP Materials from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered MP Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.92.

MP Materials Trading Up 4.3%

The company's 50-day moving average price is $51.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.73. The stock has a market cap of $7.42 billion, a PE ratio of -122.51 and a beta of 1.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 8.56 and a current ratio of 9.51.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $108.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $96.89 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.13) EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 89.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.20 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MP. EMC Capital Management acquired a new position in MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased 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 acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in MP Materials by 390.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 682 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in MP Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Markowski Investments acquired a new stake in MP Materials during the 2nd quarter worth $43,000. 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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