MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $26.29 and last traded at $26.18, with a volume of 2250449 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.38.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on MP Materials from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on MP Materials from $19.50 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.45.

MP Materials Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 6.13 and a current ratio of 6.93. The company has a market cap of $4.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.65 and a beta of 2.32.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.05). MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 8.44% and a negative net margin of 32.09%. The firm had revenue of $60.99 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $50.71 million. On average, equities analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 386,223 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.01, for a total transaction of $9,273,214.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 15,643,076 shares in the company, valued at $375,590,254.76. This trade represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 12.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MP. Aegis Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth $156,000. Pullen Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of MP Materials by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 31,026 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,000 after acquiring an additional 7,590 shares during the last quarter. JT Stratford LLC increased its position in shares of MP Materials by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 63,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $993,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of MP Materials by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 22,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $344,000 after acquiring an additional 767 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,524,000. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.