Verition Fund Management LLC Makes New $239,000 Investment in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)

Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 13,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $239,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of MP Materials by 136.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,285 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 817.5% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 3,262 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in MP Materials by 3,803.8% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 3,956 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in MP Materials by 35.7% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

MP Materials Trading Down 1.2 %

MP opened at $19.37 on Monday. MP Materials Corp. has a twelve month low of $10.02 and a twelve month high of $24.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $19.11 and a 200-day moving average of $15.73. The stock has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a PE ratio of -35.87 and a beta of 2.24. 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 declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, September 3rd that permits the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 13.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 35,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.50, for a total value of $752,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 260,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,590,451.50. The trade was a 11.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 300,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.45, for a total transaction of $5,535,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 18,221,776 shares in the company, valued at $336,191,767.20. This trade represents a 1.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 884,862 shares of company stock valued at $17,484,482. 12.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on MP Materials from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on MP Materials from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of MP Materials from $16.00 to $18.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on MP Materials from $13.50 to $16.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.10.

MP Materials Company 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.