HighTower Advisors LLC Has $2.58 Million Stake in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its stake in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 146,187 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,242 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in MP Materials were worth $2,583,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MP. CWM LLC lifted its position in MP Materials by 425.5% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,827 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,000 after acquiring an additional 7,957 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in MP Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $194,000. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in MP Materials by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 263,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,360,000 after purchasing an additional 38,426 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in MP Materials by 3,803.8% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 3,956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in MP Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $124,000. Institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

MP Materials Stock Performance

NYSE:MP opened at $19.36 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a PE ratio of -35.85 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 Corp. has a 12-month low of $10.02 and a 12-month high of $24.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $19.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.73.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 300,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.45, for a total value of $5,535,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 18,221,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $336,191,767.20. This represents a 1.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 15,195 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.30, for a total transaction of $278,068.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 295,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,398,884.30. This represents a 4.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 884,862 shares of company stock worth $17,484,482. Company insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MP shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on MP Materials from $16.00 to $18.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of MP Materials from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on MP Materials from $13.50 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on MP Materials from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.10.

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.