Federated Hermes Inc. Raises Holdings in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)

Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 338,173 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,040 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in MP Materials were worth $4,305,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of MP Materials by 153,700.0% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,537 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted 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 worth $52,000 after buying an additional 3,956 shares during the period. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership grew its stake in MP Materials by 15.9% in the 1st quarter. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership now owns 8,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in MP Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $118,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the second quarter worth $124,000. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MP Materials Stock Performance

NYSE MP opened at $14.12 on Thursday. MP Materials Corp. has a 52-week low of $10.02 and a 52-week high of $21.13. The company has a fifty day moving average of $13.15 and a 200-day moving average of $14.50. The company has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -94.13 and a beta of 2.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 6.17 and a current ratio of 6.90.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($0.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $31.26 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.03 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 4.28% and a negative net margin of 21.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.07 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MP Materials declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, September 3rd that authorizes the company to buyback $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 13.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on MP Materials in a research note on Monday, July 15th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $16.50 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of MP Materials from $15.50 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 21st. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of MP Materials from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of MP Materials from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MP Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MP Materials news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal bought 30,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $10.84 per share, with a total value of $325,200.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer now owns 1,402,975 shares in the company, valued at $15,208,249. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 12.60% of the stock is owned by 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.