MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Down 4.7% – Should You Sell?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) shares dropped 4.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $55.64 and last traded at $56.26. 4,867,744 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 27% from the average daily volume of 6,651,757 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.03.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of MP Materials from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on MP Materials from $81.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wedbush upped their price objective on MP Materials from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 price objective on MP Materials in a report on Friday, May 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.21.

MP Materials Trading Down 4.7%

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $51.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.82. The company has a market cap of $10.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -165.47 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a current ratio of 9.51, a quick ratio of 8.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01). MP Materials had a negative net margin of 19.85% and a negative return on equity of 1.21%. The company had revenue of $108.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $96.89 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.13) EPS. MP Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 89.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal acquired 10,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $54.30 per share, for a total transaction of $543,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer directly owned 136,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,418,574.60. This represents a 7.90% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 185,167 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.14, for a total transaction of $12,802,446.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,620,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $803,461,973.72. The trade was a 1.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 8.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Corient Private Wealth LP increased its stake in shares of MP Materials by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 37,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,115,000 after purchasing an additional 3,178 shares during the last quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of MP Materials by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 35,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,968,000 after buying an additional 4,612 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in shares of MP Materials by 32.5% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 509,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,562,000 after buying an additional 124,945 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in MP Materials in the second quarter valued at about $672,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in MP Materials by 5,523.6% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 9,225,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $516,731,000 after acquiring an additional 9,061,633 shares during the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.