The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Lowers Position in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its stake in shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 74.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,438 shares of the company’s stock after selling 83,781 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in MP Materials were worth $521,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

MP Materials Price Performance

Shares of MP opened at $19.37 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.87 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. The company has a 50 day moving average of $19.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.73. MP Materials Corp. has a twelve month low of $10.02 and a twelve month high of $24.01.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MP has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on MP Materials from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of MP Materials from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of MP Materials from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $16.00 to $18.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on MP Materials from $13.50 to $16.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 15,195 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.30, for a total value of $278,068.50. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 234,667 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.68, for a total transaction of $4,852,913.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 17,608,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $364,141,898.12. This represents a 1.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 884,862 shares of company stock worth $17,484,482 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

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.