MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading Down 3% – Should You Sell?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s share price was down 3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $52.42 and last traded at $55.00. 5,499,840 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 17% from the average daily volume of 6,665,430 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.68.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on MP. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Friday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on MP Materials from $81.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $78.21.

MP Materials Trading Up 9.1%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $51.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 8.56 and a current ratio of 9.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.70 billion, a PE ratio of -176.67 and a beta of 1.88.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.01). The company had revenue of $108.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $96.89 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 1.21% and a negative net margin of 19.85%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 89.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.13) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.07 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $54.30 per share, for a total transaction of $543,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer directly owned 136,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,418,574.60. This trade represents a 7.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 234,651 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.87, for a total transaction of $15,456,461.37. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,855,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $780,952,414.55. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 585,167 shares of company stock worth $39,028,272. Corporate insiders own 8.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials in the second quarter worth about $1,543,000. Amundi boosted its position in MP Materials by 260.2% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 385,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,580,000 after buying an additional 278,126 shares during the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,451,000. Phoenix Financial Ltd. acquired a new position in MP Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $449,000. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in MP Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,482,000. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MP Materials Company Profile

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.