Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Free Report) by 48.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 899,698 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 294,806 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.55% of MP Materials worth $14,035,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oak Family Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the 4th quarter worth $530,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its holdings in MP Materials by 32.7% in the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 1,245,796 shares of the company's stock worth $21,988,000 after purchasing an additional 306,933 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of MP Materials by 806.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 42,944 shares of the company's stock valued at $758,000 after buying an additional 38,204 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of MP Materials by 167.3% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 35,902 shares of the company's stock worth $560,000 after purchasing an additional 22,473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in MP Materials during the third quarter valued at about $2,300,000. 52.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MP Materials Stock Up 2.6 %

MP stock traded up $0.61 during trading on Friday, hitting $24.07. 2,570,725 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,249,629. MP Materials Corp. has a 1 year low of $10.02 and a 1 year high of $26.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -40.79 and a beta of 2.34. 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 released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $60.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $50.71 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 8.44% and a negative net margin of 32.09%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 386,223 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.01, for a total value of $9,273,214.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 15,643,076 shares in the company, valued at $375,590,254.76. This represents a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 12.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of MP Materials from $19.50 to $22.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.45.

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.