MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $22.45, but opened at $24.04. MP Materials shares last traded at $24.13, with a volume of 979,259 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on 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 price objective on MP Materials from $19.50 to $22.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.45.

MP Materials Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.43 and a beta of 2.32. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.88. 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 earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.05). The business 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 EPS for the current year.

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Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

In other news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 386,223 shares of MP Materials 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 12.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of MP Materials

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

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.