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

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 47,456 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 371% compared to the typical daily volume of 10,068 call options.

MP Materials Stock Performance

NYSE MP traded up $1.04 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $19.81. The company had a trading volume of 3,684,860 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,753,078. The business has a 50 day moving average of $23.62 and a 200-day moving average of $22.01. The company has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a PE ratio of -33.53 and a beta of 2.24. MP Materials has a 1-year low of $10.02 and a 1-year high of $29.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 6.13 and a current ratio of 6.93.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $60.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.74 million. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 32.09% and a negative return on equity of 8.44%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.04) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MP Materials will post -0.19 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MP. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of MP Materials from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on MP Materials from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on MP Materials from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MP Materials news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.51, for a total value of $1,530,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 230,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,869,851. The trade was a 20.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 161,175 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total value of $4,342,054.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,352,689 shares in the company, valued at $386,661,441.66. This trade represents a 1.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 943,792 shares of company stock worth $25,286,567. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MP. NBC Securities Inc. raised its position in MP Materials by 119,900.0% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management increased its stake in MP Materials by 132.7% in the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,403 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 40.3% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,441 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 701 shares during the period. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About MP Materials

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.