BMO Capital Markets Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) had its target price upped by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $22.00 to $29.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market perform” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective points to a potential upside of 12.34% from the stock’s previous close.

MP has been the subject of a number of other research reports. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of MP Materials from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of MP Materials from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.61.

MP Materials Price Performance

NYSE MP opened at $25.81 on Thursday. 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 market cap of $4.22 billion, a PE ratio of -43.75 and a beta of 2.32. MP Materials has a 52 week low of $10.02 and a 52 week high of $27.29. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.69.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $60.99 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $50.71 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 8.44% and a negative net margin of 32.09%. Research analysts predict that MP Materials will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.51, for a total value of $1,530,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 230,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,869,851. This trade represents a 20.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 161,175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.94, for a total transaction of $4,342,054.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,352,689 shares in the company, valued at $386,661,441.66. This represents a 1.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,112,316 shares of company stock worth $28,665,974. 12.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

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

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.