MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading Down 4.5% – Time to Sell?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s share price fell 4.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $23.29 and last traded at $23.37. 1,936,961 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 39% from the average session volume of 3,191,386 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.47.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of MP Materials from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of MP Materials from $19.50 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.45.

MP Materials Trading Down 0.9 %

The company has a quick ratio of 6.13, a current ratio of 6.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -44.27 and a beta of 2.34. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.10.

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 the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $62.93 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.30 million. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 32.24% and a negative return on equity of 6.78%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.02 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 300,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.45, for a total transaction of $5,535,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 18,221,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $336,191,767.20. The trade was a 1.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.50, for a total transaction of $752,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 260,021 shares in the company, valued at $5,590,451.50. This trade represents a 11.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,271,085 shares of company stock valued at $26,757,696. 12.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of MP Materials by 136.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in MP Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in MP Materials by 205.4% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 1,849 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 204.7% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 817.5% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 3,262 shares during the period. 52.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.