MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 2,956,528 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 9% from the previous session’s volume of 3,255,647 shares.The stock last traded at $27.33 and had previously closed at $27.59.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson upped their price target on MP Materials from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of MP Materials from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.61.

MP Materials Trading Down 2.4 %

The company has a quick ratio of 6.13, a current ratio of 6.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.63 and a beta of 2.24. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $24.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.00.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $60.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $50.71 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 8.44% and a negative net margin of 32.09%. On average, analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 18,519 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total transaction of $500,013.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,842,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $373,740,912. The trade was a 0.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total transaction of $405,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 214,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,799,924. This represents a 6.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,130,835 shares of company stock valued at $29,165,987. 12.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. NBC Securities Inc. grew its position in MP Materials by 119,900.0% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,199 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 40.3% during 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 in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of MP Materials by 205.4% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,849 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in MP Materials by 204.7% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

About MP Materials

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.