MP Materials Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:MP)

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 8,137 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 83% compared to the typical daily volume of 4,444 call options.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 300,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.22, for a total transaction of $6,066,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 18,043,076 shares in the company, valued at $364,830,996.72. The trade was a 1.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 15,195 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.30, for a total value of $278,068.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 295,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,398,884.30. This represents a 4.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 884,862 shares of company stock worth $17,484,482. 12.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 23.1% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 13,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $170,000 after buying an additional 2,515 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of MP Materials in the second quarter valued at $219,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 425.5% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 801,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,201,000 after buying an additional 648,838 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in shares of MP Materials in the second quarter valued at $182,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 136.0% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,285 shares in the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on MP shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on MP Materials from $19.50 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on MP Materials from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on MP Materials from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MP Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.45.

MP Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MP traded up $1.89 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $24.12. 3,874,235 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,030,437. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 6.93 and a quick ratio of 6.13. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $19.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.94. The firm has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -44.66 and a beta of 2.34. MP Materials has a twelve month low of $10.02 and a twelve month high of $24.16.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $62.93 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.30 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 6.78% and a negative net margin of 32.24%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.02 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that MP Materials will post -0.54 EPS for the current year.

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.