MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Up 6.9% - Still a Buy?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) shares were up 6.9% on Monday . The company traded as high as $25.50 and last traded at $24.66. Approximately 1,548,195 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 52% from the average daily volume of 3,198,006 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.06.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on MP. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on MP Materials from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. 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 report on Wednesday, March 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $23.61.

MP Materials Stock Down 3.8 %

The business's 50 day simple moving average is $24.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.91. The company has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a PE ratio of -38.38 and a beta of 2.24. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.05). MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 8.44% and a negative net margin of 32.09%. The business had revenue of $60.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $50.71 million. As a group, analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 386,223 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,643,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $375,590,254.76. This trade represents a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total value of $405,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 214,812 shares in the company, valued at $5,799,924. This trade represents a 6.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,130,835 shares of company stock valued at $29,165,987. Corporate insiders own 12.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NBC Securities Inc. raised its holdings in MP Materials by 119,900.0% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,199 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased 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 valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of MP Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in MP Materials by 204.7% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,275 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.