MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Down 2.8% – Time to Sell?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s stock price was down 2.8% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $63.20 and last traded at $65.4890. Approximately 5,563,117 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 21% from the average daily volume of 7,026,461 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.41.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MP shares. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of MP Materials from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of MP Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 8th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MP Materials presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $81.00.

MP Materials Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $58.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.36. The company has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -143.86 and a beta of 1.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 7.18 and a quick ratio of 6.58.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.04. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 28.00% and a negative return on equity of 2.27%. The company had revenue of $90.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $74.82 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.12) earnings per share. MP Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 49.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 177,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total transaction of $11,540,254.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,205,965 shares in the company, valued at $794,974,500.45. The trade was a 1.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 109,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,176,275. This trade represents a 15.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 666,000 shares of company stock worth $43,103,382. Insiders own 8.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Costello Asset Management INC increased its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 1,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Composition Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Composition Wealth LLC now owns 18,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its position in MP Materials by 28.1% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in MP Materials by 4.7% during the third quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARS Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in MP Materials by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC now owns 19,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

About MP Materials

MP Materials Corporation operates as a vertically integrated producer of rare earth materials in North America. The company owns and manages the Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine and Processing Facility in California, the only commercially viable rare earth mining and processing site in the United States. MP Materials extracts, separates and refines critical rare earth elements—such as neodymium, praseodymium, and cerium—which are essential inputs for permanent magnets used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, and various defense applications.

The Mountain Pass mine first began commercial rare earth production in the 1950s and was later operated by Molycorp until its bankruptcy in 2015.