MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Sets New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $28.00 and last traded at $26.03, with a volume of 381075 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on MP Materials from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MP Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $23.61.

MP Materials Trading Up 4.9 %

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 50 day moving average of $24.39 and a 200 day moving average of $20.72. The firm has a market cap of $3.76 billion, a PE ratio of -39.03 and a beta of 2.24.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $60.99 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $50.71 million. Equities analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other MP Materials news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total value of $405,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 214,812 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,799,924. This trade represents a 6.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 386,223 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.01, for a total transaction of $9,273,214.23. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,130,835 shares of company stock worth $29,165,987. 12.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of MP Materials

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of MP Materials by 40.3% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,441 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 701 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of MP Materials by 205.4% in the 4th 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 increased its position in MP Materials by 204.7% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,275 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in MP Materials by 69.3% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 1,545 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.55% of the company's stock.

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.