BMO Capital Markets Increases MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Price Target to $22.00

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) had its target price upped by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $19.50 to $22.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market perform” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 3.39% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on MP. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on MP Materials from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of MP Materials from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.45.

MP Materials Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of MP Materials stock traded down $0.29 during trading on Monday, hitting $21.28. 891,056 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,031,263. MP Materials has a 52-week low of $10.02 and a 52-week high of $24.01. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.67. The firm has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -39.46 and a beta of 2.31. The company has a current ratio of 6.93, a quick ratio of 6.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.15) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11) by ($0.04). MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 6.78% and a negative net margin of 32.24%. The company had revenue of $62.93 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.02 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that MP Materials will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 234,667 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.68, for a total value of $4,852,913.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 17,608,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $364,141,898.12. This represents a 1.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 15,195 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.30, for a total value of $278,068.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 295,021 shares in the company, valued at $5,398,884.30. This trade represents a 4.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 884,862 shares of company stock worth $17,484,482 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Guidance Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the 4th quarter worth $344,000. Oak Family Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $530,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its holdings in MP Materials by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 34,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,000 after purchasing an additional 5,973 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in MP Materials by 33.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares during the period. Finally, Archford Capital Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of MP Materials by 29.8% during the 4th quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 21,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 4,852 shares in the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MP Materials Company Profile

MP Materials Corp., together with its subsidiaries, produces rare earth materials. The company owns and operates the Mountain Pass Rare Earth mine and processing facility in North America. It holds the mineral rights to the Mountain Pass mine and surrounding areas, as well as intellectual property rights related to the processing and development of rare earth minerals.