MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Down 3.2% – Should You Sell?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s share price dropped 3.2% on Monday. The company traded as low as $38.13 and last traded at $38.2890. 4,218,237 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 33% from the average daily volume of 6,327,481 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.57.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MP shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on MP Materials from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of MP Materials from $69.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Zacks Research cut MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on MP Materials from $81.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MP Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.92.

MP Materials Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $6.82 billion, a PE ratio of -112.61 and a beta of 2.05. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $47.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.22.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $108.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.13) earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.20 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in MP Materials by 25.5% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 88,945 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,206,000 after acquiring an additional 18,082 shares during the period. Northeast Investment Management purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the third quarter worth about $1,138,000. Verity Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 2.4% during the third quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 34,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,642,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares during the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of MP Materials by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC now owns 6,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrity Alliance LLC. grew its stake in shares of MP Materials by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. now owns 11,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $565,000 after buying an additional 659 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

About MP Materials

MP Materials Corp. is a rare earth materials company focused on restoring and expanding a fully integrated rare earth supply chain in the United States. The company owns and operates the Mountain Pass rare earth mine and processing facility in California, one of the largest rare earth production sites in the Western Hemisphere.

MP Materials primarily produces rare earth concentrate containing neodymium and praseodymium, elements used in high-strength permanent magnets. These magnets are important components in electric vehicles, wind turbines, robotics, defense systems, and other advanced technologies.