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

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 45,415 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 185% compared to the typical daily volume of 15,923 call options.

MP Materials Stock Up 14.0%

MP stock traded up $3.60 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $29.24. The stock had a trading volume of 24,001,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,225,210. The firm has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -49.56 and a beta of 2.14. The business has a 50-day moving average of $23.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.35. MP Materials has a 52-week low of $10.02 and a 52-week high of $32.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 6.93 and a quick ratio of 6.13.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MP. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on MP Materials from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on MP Materials from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley raised MP Materials from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $23.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on MP Materials from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MP Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $25.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 18,519 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total transaction of $500,013.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,842,256 shares in the company, valued at $373,740,912. This trade represents a 0.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total value of $405,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 214,812 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,799,924. The trade was a 6.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 943,792 shares of company stock valued at $25,286,567 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MP. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of MP Materials by 44.3% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,537,511 shares of the company's stock worth $101,986,000 after acquiring an additional 2,005,505 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the first quarter valued at $34,288,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of MP Materials by 429.3% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,550,124 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,839,000 after buying an additional 1,257,282 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $14,886,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of MP Materials by 7.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,662,567 shares of the company's stock valued at $333,503,000 after buying an additional 942,105 shares during the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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