MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) shares gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $22.68, but opened at $25.19. MP Materials shares last traded at $27.35, with a volume of 4,406,562 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on MP. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on MP Materials from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MP Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.61.

MP Materials Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average is $24.45 and its 200-day moving average is $20.94. 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 $4.45 billion, a PE ratio of -46.15 and a beta of 2.24.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.05). MP Materials had a negative net margin of 32.09% and a negative return on equity of 8.44%. The business had revenue of $60.99 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $50.71 million. As a group, research analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In related news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 60,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.51, for a total transaction of $1,530,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 230,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,869,851. The trade was a 20.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 386,223 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.01, for a total value of $9,273,214.23. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,643,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $375,590,254.76. This represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,130,835 shares of company stock valued at $29,165,987. 12.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in MP Materials by 119,900.0% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in MP Materials by 40.3% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in MP Materials by 205.4% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of MP Materials by 204.7% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.