MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Down 7.9% - What's Next?

Shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) dropped 7.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $23.41 and last traded at $23.92. Approximately 988,018 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 3,178,824 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.97.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MP. DA Davidson increased their target price 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 research report on Thursday, March 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $23.61.

MP Materials Stock Down 1.5 %

The stock has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.99 and a beta of 2.32. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $24.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.44.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last released 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). The firm 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, analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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Insider Transactions at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was 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 represents a 6.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 489,918 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total transaction of $13,115,104.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,153,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $405,650,039.66. The trade was a 3.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,130,835 shares of company stock valued at $29,165,987 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 12.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in MP Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,284,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in MP Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $399,000. Oak Family Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $530,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 167.3% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 35,902 shares of the company's stock valued at $560,000 after buying an additional 22,473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the third quarter worth approximately $2,300,000. 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.