Stock Traders Buy High Volume of MP Materials Call Options (NYSE:MP)

Key Points

• MP Materials Corp. experienced a significant increase in options trading, with investors purchasing a total of 88,666 call options, marking a 56% increase from the average volume.
• COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal sold 150,000 shares of MP Materials stock for approximately $10.8 million, resulting in a 10.46% decrease in his overall stake in the company.
• Several institutional investors, including Amundi and GAMMA Investing LLC, have recently boosted their holdings in MP Materials, reflecting growing confidence in the company's performance.

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors bought 88,666 call options on the company. This is an increase of 56% compared to the average volume of 56,748 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal sold 150,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.02, for a total value of $10,803,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 1,284,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,503,136.18. This trade represents a 10.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MP. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in MP Materials by 52.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,750 shares of the company's stock worth $140,000 after acquiring an additional 1,975 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new position in MP Materials in the first quarter worth approximately $687,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in MP Materials in the second quarter worth approximately $7,479,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in MP Materials by 561.2% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 80,662 shares of the company's stock worth $2,002,000 after acquiring an additional 68,462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its holdings in MP Materials by 314.6% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 7,205 shares of the company's stock worth $176,000 after acquiring an additional 5,467 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.55% of the company's stock.

MP Materials Stock Performance

NYSE MP traded up $7.08 on Thursday, reaching $78.31. The stock had a trading volume of 18,824,394 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,548,041. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $67.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.18. The company has a market cap of $13.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -124.81 and a beta of 2.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 3.60 and a quick ratio of 3.12. MP Materials has a 1-year low of $15.56 and a 1-year high of $82.50.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by $0.03. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 9.34% and a negative net margin of 41.87%.The business had revenue of $57.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.84 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.17) EPS. MP Materials's revenue for the quarter was up 83.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that MP Materials will post -0.19 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MP. Wall Street Zen upgraded MP Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley set a $65.00 price objective on MP Materials and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on MP Materials from $20.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded MP Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Friday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $68.33.

MP Materials Company Profile

MP Materials Corp., together with its subsidiaries, produces rare earth materials. The company owns and operates the Mountain Pass Rare Earth mine and processing facility in North America. It holds the mineral rights to the Mountain Pass mine and surrounding areas, as well as intellectual property rights related to the processing and development of rare earth minerals.

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