MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading 3.6% Higher – Time to Buy?
by Scott Moore · The Cerbat GemMP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP – Get Free Report)’s share price rose 3.6% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $60.58 and last traded at $59.4280. Approximately 4,895,625 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 32% from the average daily volume of 7,150,695 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.36.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on MP Materials from $71.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. TD Securities upgraded MP Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen raised MP Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, MP Materials currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.09.
MP Materials Price Performance
The company has a quick ratio of 6.67, a current ratio of 7.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $56.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.99. The firm has a market cap of $10.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -114.28 and a beta of 1.67.
MP Materials (NYSE:MP – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.07. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 4.28% and a negative net margin of 38.26%.The business had revenue of $52.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $76.06 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.12) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.
Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials
In other news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 46,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $2,760,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 129,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,741,020. This trade represents a 26.28% 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 Inflows and Outflows
Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Costello Asset Management INC lifted its position in MP Materials by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 1,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Composition Wealth LLC increased its holdings in MP Materials by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Composition Wealth LLC now owns 18,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $926,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its stake in shares of MP Materials by 28.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of MP Materials by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 18,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,218,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 11,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $872,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
MP Materials Company Profile
MP Materials Corporation operates as a vertically integrated producer of rare earth materials in North America. The company owns and manages the Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine and Processing Facility in California, the only commercially viable rare earth mining and processing site in the United States. MP Materials extracts, separates and refines critical rare earth elements—such as neodymium, praseodymium, and cerium—which are essential inputs for permanent magnets used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, and various defense applications.
The Mountain Pass mine first began commercial rare earth production in the 1950s and was later operated by Molycorp until its bankruptcy in 2015.