MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Sees Large Volume Increase - Still a Buy?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 2,956,528 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 9% from the previous session's volume of 3,255,647 shares.The stock last traded at $27.33 and had previously closed at $27.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on MP. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. DA Davidson increased their target price on MP Materials from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $23.61.

MP Materials Stock Down 4.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $4.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -44.47 and a beta of 2.24. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $24.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.19. The company has a quick ratio of 6.13, a current ratio of 6.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.05). MP Materials had a negative net margin of 32.09% and a negative return on equity of 8.44%. The firm had revenue of $60.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $50.71 million. As a group, research analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 199,180 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.08, for a total transaction of $5,393,794.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,643,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $369,454,498.08. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 60,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.51, for a total value of $1,530,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 230,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,869,851. The trade was a 20.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,330,015 shares of company stock valued at $34,559,781 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 12.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MP. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in MP Materials by 44.3% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,537,511 shares of the company's stock worth $101,986,000 after buying an additional 2,005,505 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in MP Materials by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,432,389 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,945,000 after purchasing an additional 73,297 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of MP Materials by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,207,017 shares of the company's stock worth $34,433,000 after buying an additional 176,121 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,118,580 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,050,000 after acquiring an additional 7,453 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,079,668 shares of the company's stock worth $16,843,000 after purchasing an additional 144,661 shares during the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by 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.