MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Down 1% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• MP Materials shares fell 1% to about $48.79 in midday trading, with volume roughly 41% below the average session level. The stock remains below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans positive: the consensus rating is “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $76.29, despite recent target cuts from JPMorgan and Barclays and downgrades from Zacks Research and Wall Street Zen.
• The company met quarterly EPS expectations and reported revenue of $108.49 million, up 89% year over year, but remained unprofitable with a negative net margin. Institutional investors own 52.55% of the stock, while MP continues expanding from rare-earth mining into processing and magnet manufacturing.

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) shares dropped 1% during mid-day trading on Friday. The company traded as low as $48.13 and last traded at $48.7860. 3,822,958 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 6,466,799 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.30.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of MP Materials from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research lowered MP Materials from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Barclays dropped their price target on MP Materials from $69.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut MP Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $76.29.

MP Materials Stock Performance

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 company has a market capitalization of $8.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -143.48 and a beta of 1.94. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.80.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.01). The business had revenue of $108.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $96.89 million. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 19.85% and a negative return on equity of 1.21%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 89.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.13) earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MP. Toth Financial Advisory Corp lifted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 73.3% in the second quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 520 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. grew its position in MP Materials by 3.7% during the first quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 6,643 shares of the company's stock worth $321,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in MP Materials by 4.5% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,679 shares of the company's stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. NFSG Corp increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of MP Materials by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,697 shares of the company's stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the period. 52.55% of the stock is currently 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 is one of the largest rare earth production facilities in the Western Hemisphere and produces rare earth concentrate, with an emphasis on neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr), materials used in high-performance permanent magnets.

The company is expanding its operations beyond mining and concentrate production into separated rare earth products and magnet manufacturing.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.