MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nine analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $23.61.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of MP Materials from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on MP Materials from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th.

MP Materials Trading Up 0.6 %

MP opened at $26.21 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 6.93, a quick ratio of 6.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $4.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -44.42 and a beta of 2.32. MP Materials has a 12 month low of $10.02 and a 12 month high of $27.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $23.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.05.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last announced its earnings results 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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MP Materials will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MP Materials news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total value of $405,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 214,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,799,924. This represents a 6.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 386,223 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.01, for a total value of $9,273,214.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,643,076 shares in the company, valued at $375,590,254.76. This represents a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,130,835 shares of company stock valued at $29,165,987. 12.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of MP Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in MP Materials by 44.3% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,537,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,986,000 after acquiring an additional 2,005,505 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $14,886,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth $6,284,000. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in MP Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $6,019,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new position in MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $5,524,000. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.