MP Materials Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:MP)

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders purchased 8,137 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 83% compared to the average daily volume of 4,444 call options.

MP Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MP traded up $1.89 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $24.12. The stock had a trading volume of 3,874,235 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,030,437. MP Materials has a 52 week low of $10.02 and a 52 week high of $24.16. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $19.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 6.93 and a quick ratio of 6.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a PE ratio of -44.66 and a beta of 2.34.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.15) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11) by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $62.93 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.30 million. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 32.24% and a negative return on equity of 6.78%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.02 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that MP Materials will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on MP Materials from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of MP Materials from $19.50 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of MP Materials from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.45.

Insider Activity

In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 234,667 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.68, for a total transaction of $4,852,913.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 17,608,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $364,141,898.12. This represents a 1.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.50, for a total transaction of $752,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 260,021 shares in the company, valued at $5,590,451.50. The trade was a 11.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 884,862 shares of company stock worth $17,484,482 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MP Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MP. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 23.1% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 13,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 2,515 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in MP Materials during the 2nd quarter worth $219,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in MP Materials by 425.5% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 801,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,201,000 after acquiring an additional 648,838 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in MP Materials during the 2nd quarter worth $182,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in MP Materials by 136.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

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.