Insider Buying: MP Materials (NYSE:MP) CFO Buys $198,505.00 in Stock

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) CFO Ryan Corbett purchased 5,476 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $36.25 per share, with a total value of $198,505.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 114,493 shares in the company, valued at $4,150,371.25. The trade was a 5.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

MP Materials Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE MP opened at $36.81 on Thursday. MP Materials Corp. has a 52-week low of $31.90 and a 52-week high of $76.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 6.04 and a current ratio of 6.75. The stock has a market cap of $6.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -167.32 and a beta of 2.05. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $44.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.98.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.06. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 9.90% and a negative return on equity of 0.05%. The company had revenue of $147.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.37 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.10) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 175.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.21 EPS for the current year.

Trending Headlines about MP Materials

Here are a few of the latest headlines about MP:

• Positive Sentiment: MP reported a third-quarter earnings and revenue beat: EPS was $0.04 versus consensus of a $0.02 loss, and revenue of $147.66 million exceeded the $117.37 million estimate. Higher NdPr sales and pricing contributed to the results. Zacks earnings analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Freedom Broker upgraded MP from “hold” to “buy” and set a $51 price target, citing valuation and anticipated manufacturing cost savings. Freedom Broker upgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst views remain divided: a report cited a downgrade, and Deutsche Bank cut its price target to $40 from $53 while keeping a Buy rating. Analyst downgrade report Deutsche Bank price target

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the third quarter worth $1,479,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC bought a new position in MP Materials in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its position in MP Materials by 9.5% in the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 7,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 623 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in MP Materials by 72.4% in the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,482,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,092,000 after buying an additional 622,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, South Dakota Investment Council increased its stake in MP Materials by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 53,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,509,000 after buying an additional 1,839 shares during the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MP shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on MP Materials from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of MP Materials in a report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.50.

MP Materials Company Profile

MP Materials operates the Mountain Pass rare earth mine and processing facility in California. The site is a major North American source of rare earth materials, which are used in products such as electric vehicles, wind turbines, electronics and defense systems. The company mines and processes rare earth ore into concentrate and separated products, including neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr), a key input for high-strength permanent magnets. MP Materials is also developing domestic magnet manufacturing capabilities to extend its business further along the supply chain.