MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading Up 9.5% – Still a Buy?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s share price traded up 9.5% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $17.97 and last traded at $17.94. 1,840,149 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 17% from the average session volume of 2,223,203 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.39.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on MP Materials from $13.50 to $16.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of MP Materials from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of MP Materials from $16.00 to $18.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of MP Materials from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MP Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.10.

MP Materials Stock Performance

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 firm has a market capitalization of $2.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.54 and a beta of 2.24. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $18.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 234,667 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.68, for a total transaction of $4,852,913.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 17,608,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $364,141,898.12. This trade represents a 1.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 15,195 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was 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 $5,398,884.30. This represents a 4.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 884,862 shares of company stock worth $17,484,482. 12.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of MP Materials by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 11,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. grew its position in MP Materials by 0.5% in the third quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 190,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,355,000 after buying an additional 910 shares during the last quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel increased its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 1.7% in the second quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 66,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $842,000 after buying an additional 1,122 shares in the last quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 0.4% in the third quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 255,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,509,000 after buying an additional 1,135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 16,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $206,000 after acquiring an additional 1,228 shares in the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by 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.