MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $23.18, but opened at $24.57. MP Materials shares last traded at $24.28, with a volume of 630,204 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $19.50 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on MP Materials from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.45.

MP Materials Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.04 and a beta of 2.34. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 6.13 and a current ratio of 6.93.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.05). MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 6.78% and a negative net margin of 32.24%. The firm had revenue of $60.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $50.71 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 386,223 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.01, for a total value of $9,273,214.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,643,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $375,590,254.76. This represents a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 35,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.50, for a total value of $752,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 955,890 shares of company stock valued at $20,944,628 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 219.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 46,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $827,000 after buying an additional 32,176 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in MP Materials by 817.5% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,661 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 3,262 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of MP Materials by 56.2% during the 3rd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 59,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after purchasing an additional 21,300 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $188,000. Finally, Pullen Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of MP Materials by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 23,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $414,000 after purchasing an additional 2,223 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.