MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading Down 8% After Analyst Downgrade

Posted by Brian Himes on Jul 16th, 2026

Shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP – Get Free Report) traded down 8% during trading on Thursday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $69.00 to $65.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. MP Materials traded as low as $44.45 and last traded at $45.5050. Approximately 9,243,701 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 40% from the average daily volume of 6,606,997 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.46.

MP has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of MP Materials from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of MP Materials from $70.00 to $71.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of MP Materials in a report on Monday, June 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $79.25.

Get Our Latest Analysis on MP

Insider Transactions at MP Materials

In related news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal bought 17,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $56.62 per share, with a total value of $962,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 1,333,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $75,512,565.26. The trade was a 1.29% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 259,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total transaction of $16,595,231.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,505,965 shares in the company, valued at $800,756,938.95. This trade represents a 2.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 1,205,167 shares of company stock worth $79,371,654 over the last three months. 8.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting MP Materials

Here are the key news stories impacting MP Materials this week:

Positive Sentiment: Analysts say MP Materials’ operating improvements, strong liquidity, and record production support its U.S. rare earth buildout, while policy backing and downstream traction strengthen the long-term investment case. Is MP Stock a Buy Now or Too Pricey for Its Execution Risks?
Positive Sentiment: Brokerage sentiment remains constructive, with Barclays still rating the stock “overweight” even after trimming its price target to $65 from $69, and other reports saying analysts broadly view MP as a buy. Barclays price target update
Neutral Sentiment: Several recent articles emphasize that MP is building an integrated U.S. rare earth platform, but investors are waiting for clearer evidence that scale-up plans can translate into durable earnings. MP Materials Stock Outlook Hinges on Rare Earth Scale-Up Plans
Neutral Sentiment: Coverage also noted that MP’s reshoring strategy is gaining policy support and customer interest, but the investment case depends on successful execution and cost control. MP Materials and the U.S. Rare Earth Push are Starting to Align
Negative Sentiment: Some analysts caution that MP’s premium valuation, rising costs, and unfinished project ramps make the shares look expensive relative to the remaining execution risk. MP Materials: Execution Improves, But You’re Paying For The Destination

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd lifted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 7.2% in the third quarter. Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd now owns 14,861,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $996,741,000 after buying an additional 1,000,000 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in MP Materials by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,479,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $731,519,000 after acquiring an additional 459,213 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in MP Materials by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,597,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $333,325,000 after acquiring an additional 769,517 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of MP Materials by 76.3% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,921,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,200,000 after acquiring an additional 1,264,243 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of MP Materials by 71.6% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,834,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,220,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183,307 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

MP Materials Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $8.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -108.35 and a beta of 1.86. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $59.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.29. The company has a current ratio of 7.18, a quick ratio of 6.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.04. The business had revenue of $90.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $74.82 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 2.27% and a negative net margin of 28.00%.MP Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 49.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.12) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post 0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MP Materials Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

MP Materials Corporation operates as a vertically integrated producer of rare earth materials in North America. The company owns and manages the Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine and Processing Facility in California, the only commercially viable rare earth mining and processing site in the United States. MP Materials extracts, separates and refines critical rare earth elements—such as neodymium, praseodymium, and cerium—which are essential inputs for permanent magnets used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, and various defense applications.

The Mountain Pass mine first began commercial rare earth production in the 1950s and was later operated by Molycorp until its bankruptcy in 2015.