MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $22.45, but opened at $24.04. MP Materials shares last traded at $24.13, with a volume of 979,259 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $19.50 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on MP Materials from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Four investment 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.45.

MP Materials Stock Up 7.1 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $21.36 and a 200-day moving average of $18.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -40.80 and a beta of 2.32. The company has a current ratio of 6.93, a quick ratio of 6.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its quarterly 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). MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 8.44% and a negative net margin of 32.09%. The company had revenue of $60.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $50.71 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 386,223 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.01, for a total transaction of $9,273,214.23. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 15,643,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $375,590,254.76. The trade was a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 12.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MP. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the third quarter worth approximately $188,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in MP Materials by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 93,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,643,000 after buying an additional 2,331 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 51,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $911,000 after buying an additional 3,149 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 35.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 604,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,676,000 after acquiring an additional 159,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verity Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of MP Materials by 8.2% in the third quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 98,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,732,000 after acquiring an additional 7,424 shares during the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.