MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Gap Up - Here's What Happened

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $23.99, but opened at $26.00. MP Materials shares last traded at $23.70, with a volume of 966,341 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

MP Materials Stock Down 3.8 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $24.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.91. 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 company has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -38.38 and a beta of 2.24.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $60.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $50.71 million. Equities research analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 489,918 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total value of $13,115,104.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,153,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $405,650,039.66. This trade represents a 3.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 60,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.51, for a total transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,130,835 shares of company stock worth $29,165,987 in the last quarter. Insiders own 12.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. RFG Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $1,042,000. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its stake in MP Materials by 119,900.0% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,200 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,199 shares during the last quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP grew its holdings in MP Materials by 4.7% during the first quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 24,263 shares of the company's stock valued at $592,000 after purchasing an additional 1,091 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in MP Materials by 40.4% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,734 shares of the company's stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of MP Materials by 3,618.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 140,358 shares of the company's stock worth $3,426,000 after purchasing an additional 136,583 shares in the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.