MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $22.10.

MP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on MP Materials from $16.00 to $18.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of MP Materials from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of MP Materials from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on MP Materials from $13.50 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th.

MP Materials Stock Performance

Shares of MP opened at $21.07 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $18.41 and a 200 day moving average of $15.55. The company has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.02 and a beta of 2.23. MP Materials has a 12 month low of $10.02 and a 12 month high of $21.70. 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 declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, September 3rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 13.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at MP Materials

In other news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.50, for a total value of $752,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 260,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,590,451.50. This represents a 11.86 % 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. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 300,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.22, for a total transaction of $6,066,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 18,043,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $364,830,996.72. This represents a 1.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 650,195 shares of company stock valued at $12,631,569 over the last three months. Company insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MP. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its stake in MP Materials by 32.7% in the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 1,245,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,988,000 after purchasing an additional 306,933 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of MP Materials by 806.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 42,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $758,000 after buying an additional 38,204 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position 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 buying an additional 159,200 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,861,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,216,000 after acquiring an additional 225,554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,598,861 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

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.