Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Increases Stock Position in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 197.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 96,106 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 63,751 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.06% of MP Materials worth $1,696,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in MP Materials by 2,536.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,661,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,767,000 after acquiring an additional 1,598,861 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 16.7% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 71,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 10,264 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $356,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 12.4% in the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 47,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $675,000 after purchasing an additional 5,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its stake in MP Materials by 65.7% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 81,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,167,000 after buying an additional 32,354 shares during the period. 52.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on MP Materials from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on MP Materials from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on MP Materials from $16.00 to $18.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.10.

Insider Transactions at MP Materials

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 300,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.45, for a total transaction of $5,535,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 18,221,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $336,191,767.20. This represents a 1.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 15,195 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 295,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,398,884.30. This trade represents a 4.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 650,195 shares of company stock worth $12,631,569 over the last 90 days. 12.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

MP Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MP opened at $21.07 on Friday. MP Materials Corp. has a one year low of $10.02 and a one year high of $21.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.02 and a beta of 2.23. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 6.13 and a current ratio of 6.93.

MP Materials declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, September 3rd that permits the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 13.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.