Erste Asset Management GmbH Acquires New Position in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)

Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 24,127 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $444,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Comerica Bank lifted its position in MP Materials by 16.7% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 71,564 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,023,000 after acquiring an additional 10,264 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 12.4% in the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 47,179 shares of the company's stock valued at $675,000 after buying an additional 5,200 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 425.5% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,827 shares of the company's stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 7,957 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the second quarter valued at about $194,000. Finally, Mirador Capital Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 9.7% in the second quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 21,234 shares of the company's stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 1,880 shares during the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 15,195 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 295,021 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,398,884.30. This trade represents a 4.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 234,667 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.68, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 1.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 884,862 shares of company stock valued at $17,484,482. Company insiders own 12.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of MP Materials from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of MP Materials from $16.00 to $18.50 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. DA Davidson upped their target price 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. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of MP Materials from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of MP Materials from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.10.

MP Materials Trading Down 5.3 %

Shares of MP stock traded down $1.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $20.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,528,270 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,257,206. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $18.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.61. MP Materials Corp. has a 12-month low of $10.02 and a 12-month high of $24.01. 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 $3.27 billion, a PE ratio of -37.94 and a beta of 2.24.

MP Materials declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, September 3rd that permits the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 13.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.