Granite Investment Partners LLC Sells 48,101 Shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)

Granite Investment Partners LLC decreased its holdings in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 11.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 385,976 shares of the company’s stock after selling 48,101 shares during the period. Granite Investment Partners LLC owned 0.23% of MP Materials worth $4,913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MP. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in MP Materials by 27.6% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 28,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $571,000 after purchasing an additional 6,226 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of MP Materials by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,198,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,787,000 after acquiring an additional 23,722 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in MP Materials by 59.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,314,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,956,000 after acquiring an additional 860,960 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in MP Materials by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 13,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 1,344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC bought a new stake in MP Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $365,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

MP Materials Price Performance

MP Materials stock opened at $13.89 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a PE ratio of -92.57 and a beta of 2.22. MP Materials Corp. has a 12-month low of $10.02 and a 12-month high of $20.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $13.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.49. The company has a current ratio of 6.90, a quick ratio of 6.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last announced its 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). MP Materials had a negative net margin of 21.94% and a negative return on equity of 4.28%. The business had revenue of $31.26 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.07 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.44 EPS for the current year.

MP Materials declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 reacquire up to 13.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In related news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal bought 30,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $10.84 per share, with a total value of $325,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 1,402,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,208,249. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 12.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on MP Materials in a research report on Monday, July 15th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $16.50 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on MP Materials from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on MP Materials from $13.50 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of MP Materials from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.11.

About MP Materials

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.