MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $26.29 and last traded at $26.18, with a volume of 2250449 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.38.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MP shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on 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 target price on MP Materials from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.45.

MP Materials Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $22.71 and a 200-day moving average of $19.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a PE ratio of -45.65 and a beta of 2.32. 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 (NYSE:MP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $60.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 386,223 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,643,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $375,590,254.76. This represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MP. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in MP Materials by 40.3% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 205.4% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,849 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 204.7% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 69.3% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 1,545 shares during the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is 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.