MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Sets New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $22.00 to $29.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the stock. MP Materials traded as high as $27.29 and last traded at $26.80, with a volume of 2691828 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $26.83.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on MP. DA Davidson increased their price target on MP Materials from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on MP Materials from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 386,223 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 15,643,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $375,590,254.76. This trade represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total value of $405,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 214,812 shares in the company, valued at $5,799,924. The trade was a 6.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,112,316 shares of company stock valued at $28,665,974. 12.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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Institutional Trading of MP Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Aegis Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $156,000. Pullen Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of MP Materials by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 31,026 shares of the company's stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 7,590 shares during the period. JT Stratford LLC raised its stake in shares of MP Materials by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 63,685 shares of the company's stock valued at $993,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the period. Delta Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of MP Materials by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 22,025 shares of the company's stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 767 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,524,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.55% of the company's stock.

MP Materials Price Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.74. The stock has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.75 and a beta of 2.32. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $60.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $50.71 million. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 32.09% and a negative return on equity of 8.44%. Research analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 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.