MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Up 7.5% – Still a Buy?

by · The Markets Daily

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP – Get Free Report)’s stock price rose 7.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $71.37 and last traded at $69.5520. Approximately 8,519,187 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 21% from the average daily volume of 7,047,981 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.70.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on MP Materials in a report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Wedbush increased their price objective on MP Materials from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised MP Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $80.14.

Read Our Latest Research Report on MP Materials

MP Materials Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $12.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -165.60 and a beta of 1.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $59.36 and a 200 day moving average of $59.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 7.18 and a quick ratio of 6.58.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $90.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.82 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 2.27% and a negative net margin of 28.00%.MP Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 49.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.12) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 109,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,176,275. This trade represents a 15.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.58, for a total value of $3,229,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,805,965 shares in the company, valued at $762,429,219.70. This represents a 0.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 1,066,000 shares of company stock valued at $69,329,207 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 8.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. EMC Capital Management purchased a new position in MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new position in MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. boosted its position in MP Materials by 555.3% during the fourth quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. now owns 557 shares of the company’s stock worth $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.

Recommended Stories