MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) Holdings Lifted by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 57.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 101,899 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 37,139 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of MP Materials worth $1,297,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MP. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in MP Materials by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,635,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $270,669,000 after buying an additional 254,881 shares in the last quarter. Old West Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of MP Materials by 56.3% during the fourth quarter. Old West Investment Management LLC now owns 250,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,962,000 after acquiring an additional 90,000 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in shares of MP Materials by 15.6% during the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 62,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $888,000 after acquiring an additional 8,376 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in MP Materials by 2,536.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,661,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,767,000 after purchasing an additional 1,598,861 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in MP Materials by 12.4% in the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 47,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $675,000 after purchasing an additional 5,200 shares during the period. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MP Materials Stock Down 4.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MP opened at $17.65 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.57. MP Materials Corp. has a 52 week low of $10.02 and a 52 week high of $20.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 6.17 and a current ratio of 6.90. The company has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of -117.67 and a beta of 2.22.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($0.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $31.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.03 million. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 21.94% and a negative return on equity of 4.28%. MP Materials’s revenue for the quarter was down 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.07 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.47 earnings per share for the current year.

MP Materials announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, September 3rd that allows the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 13.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on MP Materials from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of MP Materials from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $15.50 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of MP Materials from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

In related news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal acquired 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $10.84 per share, with a total value of $325,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 1,402,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,208,249. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

MP Materials 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.