MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Down 9.6% on Insider Selling

by · The Markets Daily

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP – Get Free Report) was down 9.6% during mid-day trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $58.65 and last traded at $59.2020. Approximately 7,946,600 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 13% from the average daily volume of 7,014,596 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.46.

Specifically, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 185,167 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.14, for a total value of $12,802,446.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,620,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $803,461,973.72. The trade was a 1.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MP shares. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of MP Materials from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a report on Friday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on shares of MP Materials in a report on Monday, June 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.00 target price on the stock. Barclays started coverage on shares of MP Materials in a report on Thursday, May 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $69.00 target price on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of MP Materials in a report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.14.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on MP Materials

MP Materials Trading Down 9.6%

The stock has a market cap of $10.54 billion, a PE ratio of -140.96 and a beta of 1.86. The business’s fifty day moving average is $60.78 and its 200 day moving average is $59.75. The company has a quick ratio of 6.58, a current ratio of 7.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $90.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $74.82 million. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 28.00% and a negative return on equity of 2.27%. The firm’s revenue was up 49.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.12) earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of MP Materials

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. EMC Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 555.3% in the fourth quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. now owns 557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

MP Materials Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

MP Materials Corporation operates as a vertically integrated producer of rare earth materials in North America. The company owns and manages the Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine and Processing Facility in California, the only commercially viable rare earth mining and processing site in the United States. MP Materials extracts, separates and refines critical rare earth elements—such as neodymium, praseodymium, and cerium—which are essential inputs for permanent magnets used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, and various defense applications.

The Mountain Pass mine first began commercial rare earth production in the 1950s and was later operated by Molycorp until its bankruptcy in 2015.

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