BMO Capital Markets Boosts MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Price Target to $16.00

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) had its price target lifted by BMO Capital Markets from $15.50 to $16.00 in a research report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on MP. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of MP Materials from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Benchmark reiterated a buy rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $13.50 to $16.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on MP Materials from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on MP Materials from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $20.85.

MP Materials Trading Down 3.3 %

MP stock opened at $16.96 on Monday. MP Materials has a 12 month low of $10.02 and a 12 month high of $20.85. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $13.45 and its 200 day moving average is $14.61. The company has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a PE ratio of -113.03 and a beta of 2.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 6.90 and a quick ratio of 6.17.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($0.17) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $31.26 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.03 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 4.28% and a negative net margin of 21.94%. The business’s revenue was down 51.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.07 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that MP Materials will post -0.47 EPS for the current year.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal purchased 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $10.84 per share, with a total value of $325,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer now owns 1,402,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,208,249. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 12.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MP. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in MP Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $100,000. Sycomore Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 27.8% during the second quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 37,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 8,083 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in MP Materials by 26.3% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 847,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,785,000 after purchasing an additional 176,219 shares during the period. Aurora Investment Counsel boosted its holdings in MP Materials by 1.7% in the second quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 66,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $842,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Regal Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in MP Materials by 64.6% during the 2nd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 7,906 shares during the period. 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.