MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading 5.3% Higher – Should You Buy?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) traded up 5.3% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $62.25 and last traded at $61.85. 7,852,067 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 27% from the average session volume of 10,776,752 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.71.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $77.00 price objective for the company. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of MP Materials to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded MP Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MP Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.73.

MP Materials Trading Up 5.3%

The company’s fifty day moving average is $66.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.26. The company has a market cap of $10.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -87.11 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 7.51 and a current ratio of 8.05.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.05. The company had revenue of $53.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.72 million. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 50.55% and a negative return on equity of 7.69%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.12) earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.72, for a total value of $1,154,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 194,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,244,548.64. This represents a 9.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 248,411 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.86, for a total value of $15,863,526.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 13,369,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $853,786,806.90. The trade was a 1.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of MP Materials

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in MP Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $132,238,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in MP Materials by 19,314.3% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,013,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,987,000 after purchasing an additional 2,003,091 shares during the last quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in MP Materials by 168.4% in the 3rd quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 2,589,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,705,000 after acquiring an additional 1,624,908 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,288,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 76.3% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,921,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,264,243 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

MP Materials Company Profile

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.