Fmr LLC Acquires 22,144 Shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)

Fmr LLC increased its holdings in shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 673.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 25,432 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 22,144 shares during the period. Fmr LLC’s holdings in MP Materials were worth $449,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. boosted its holdings in MP Materials by 0.4% in the third quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 255,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,509,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 160.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 30,762 shares of the company’s stock worth $543,000 after buying an additional 18,934 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 26.9% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 103,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,821,000 after buying an additional 21,858 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its position in MP Materials by 13.3% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 505,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,923,000 after acquiring an additional 59,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its position in MP Materials by 32.7% during the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 1,245,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,988,000 after acquiring an additional 306,933 shares during the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. DA Davidson boosted their price target on MP Materials from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of MP Materials from $16.00 to $18.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of MP Materials from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped 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, September 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MP Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.10.

MP Materials Stock Performance

MP opened at $16.18 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.96 and a beta of 2.24. MP Materials Corp. has a 1-year low of $10.02 and a 1-year high of $24.01. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 6.93 and a quick ratio of 6.13.

MP Materials declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, September 3rd that permits the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 13.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 300,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.22, for a total transaction of $6,066,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 18,043,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $364,830,996.72. This represents a 1.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $752,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 260,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,590,451.50. This represents a 11.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 884,862 shares of company stock worth $17,484,482. 12.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.