MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading 4.9% Higher – Should You Buy?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s share price traded up 4.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $58.73 and last traded at $58.4260. 4,804,061 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 8,727,797 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.70.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MP has been the topic of several recent research reports. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of MP Materials from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Monday, November 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on MP Materials in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $77.00 price target for the company. Finally, William Blair initiated coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.91.

MP Materials Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $10.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -82.29 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a quick ratio of 7.51, a current ratio of 8.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 385,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.94, for a total value of $24,231,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 13,105,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $824,889,437.10. The trade was a 2.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $2,288,760.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 156,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,399,960. This trade represents a 19.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 723,146 shares of company stock worth $45,767,276 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MP Materials

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MP. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in MP Materials during the second quarter worth $132,238,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in MP Materials by 19,314.3% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,013,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,987,000 after acquiring an additional 2,003,091 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of MP Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $82,531,000. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 168.4% in the 3rd quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 2,589,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,705,000 after purchasing an additional 1,624,908 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in MP Materials by 76.3% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,921,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,264,243 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

MP Materials Company Profile

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.