MP Materials Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:MP)

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 8,211 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 120% compared to the average volume of 3,728 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on MP Materials from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on MP Materials from $13.50 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on MP Materials from $16.00 to $18.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on MP Materials from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on MP Materials from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MP Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 300,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.45, for a total transaction of $5,535,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 18,221,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $336,191,767.20. The trade was a 1.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 15,195 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.30, for a total value of $278,068.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 295,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,398,884.30. This represents a 4.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 650,195 shares of company stock valued at $12,631,569 in the last three months. Company insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MP. Comerica Bank boosted its position in MP Materials by 16.7% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 71,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 10,264 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in shares of MP Materials by 12.4% in the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 47,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $675,000 after buying an additional 5,200 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of MP Materials by 425.5% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,827 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 7,957 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $194,000. Finally, Mirador Capital Partners LP lifted its position in shares of MP Materials by 9.7% in the second quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 21,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 1,880 shares during the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MP Materials Stock Up 11.9 %

Shares of NYSE:MP traded up $2.47 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $23.28. 2,830,333 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,196,312. The company has a quick ratio of 6.13, a current ratio of 6.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -43.28 and a beta of 2.24. MP Materials has a one year low of $10.02 and a one year high of $23.84. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.51.

MP Materials declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, September 3rd that authorizes the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 13.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.