Robert W. Baird Boosts MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Price Target to $25.00

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) had its price objective raised by Robert W. Baird from $20.00 to $25.00 in a research report released on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on MP. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on MP Materials from $13.50 to $16.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Benchmark reissued a buy rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of MP Materials from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on MP Materials in a research note on Monday, July 15th. They set a market perform rating and a $16.50 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $20.67.

MP Materials Trading Up 8.8 %

Shares of MP opened at $18.39 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of -122.60 and a beta of 2.22. The company’s fifty day moving average is $13.24 and its 200 day moving average is $14.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 6.17 and a current ratio of 6.90. MP Materials has a fifty-two week low of $10.02 and a fifty-two week high of $20.85.

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

MP Materials declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, September 3rd that permits the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 13.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MP Materials news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal purchased 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $10.84 per share, with a total value of $325,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 1,402,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,208,249. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal 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

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in MP Materials by 1.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,861,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,216,000 after purchasing an additional 225,554 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its stake in shares of MP Materials by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 2,819,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,895,000 after acquiring an additional 76,288 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in MP Materials by 3.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,355,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,993,000 after acquiring an additional 71,454 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in MP Materials by 1.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,733,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,068,000 after acquiring an additional 26,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in MP Materials by 2,536.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,661,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,767,000 after purchasing an additional 1,598,861 shares during the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.