MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Sets New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $24.07 and last traded at $24.09, with a volume of 2942837 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $22.23.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of MP Materials from $19.50 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on MP Materials from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.45.

MP Materials Stock Down 0.9 %

The company's 50-day simple moving average is $19.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.19. The firm has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a PE ratio of -44.27 and a beta of 2.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 6.13 and a current ratio of 6.93.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $62.93 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 last year, the company posted $0.02 EPS. On average, analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 15,195 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.30, for a total value of $278,068.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 295,021 shares in the company, valued at $5,398,884.30. This represents a 4.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 386,223 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.01, for a total transaction of $9,273,214.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,643,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at $375,590,254.76. This represents a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,271,085 shares of company stock worth $26,757,696 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 12.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MP. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials in the 4th quarter worth $6,284,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its stake in MP Materials by 32.7% during the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 1,245,796 shares of the company's stock worth $21,988,000 after acquiring an additional 306,933 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 48.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 899,698 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,035,000 after purchasing an additional 294,806 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,484,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board purchased a new position in MP Materials during the third quarter worth $4,584,000. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About MP Materials

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.