MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading Down 9% – Should You Sell?

by · The Cerbat Gem

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP – Get Free Report) dropped 9% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $62.62 and last traded at $63.35. Approximately 18,242,302 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 72% from the average daily volume of 10,586,724 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.58.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. William Blair started coverage on shares of MP Materials in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $77.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.91.

Get Our Latest Research Report on MP Materials

MP Materials Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $59.21 and a 200 day moving average of $64.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 8.05 and a quick ratio of 7.51.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.05. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 50.55% and a negative return on equity of 7.69%. The company had revenue of $53.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.72 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.12) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $2,288,760.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 156,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,399,960. This trade represents a 19.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 272,600 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.17, for a total value of $17,492,742.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,805,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $821,758,774.05. The trade was a 2.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 991,557 shares of company stock valued at $62,785,202 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MP. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC grew its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 4,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new stake in MP Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of MP Materials by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the period. Finally, LBP AM SA boosted its position in shares of MP Materials by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 26,624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,345,000 after purchasing an additional 7,151 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

MP Materials Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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