MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $23.18, but opened at $24.57. MP Materials shares last traded at $24.28, with a volume of 630,204 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MP shares. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective 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 increased their target price on MP Materials from $19.50 to $22.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.45.

MP Materials Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $20.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.13. 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 $3.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.94 and a beta of 2.34.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $60.99 million for 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In other news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.50, for a total value of $752,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 260,021 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,590,451.50. This represents a 11.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 234,667 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.68, for a total value of $4,852,913.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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. Insiders sold 655,890 shares of company stock valued at $14,878,628 in the last three months. 12.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MP. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 44.3% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,537,511 shares of the company's stock valued at $101,986,000 after buying an additional 2,005,505 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $14,886,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in MP Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $6,284,000. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in MP Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $6,019,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,524,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.