Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Grows Stock Position in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 23.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,227 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,771 shares during the quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in MP Materials were worth $394,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of MP Materials by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,432,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,945,000 after purchasing an additional 73,297 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in MP Materials by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,079,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,843,000 after buying an additional 144,661 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in MP Materials by 48.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 899,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,035,000 after buying an additional 294,806 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 4.3% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 462,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,161,000 after acquiring an additional 19,077 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $6,284,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MP shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of MP Materials from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.61.

MP Materials Stock Performance

NYSE:MP opened at $25.97 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -44.02 and a beta of 2.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $23.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.13. MP Materials Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $10.02 and a fifty-two week high of $27.29. The company has a quick ratio of 6.13, a current ratio of 6.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its 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 8.44% and a negative net margin of 32.09%. The firm had revenue of $60.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $50.71 million. Analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.51, for a total value of $1,530,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 230,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,869,851. This trade represents a 20.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,842,256 shares in the company, valued at $373,740,912. The trade was a 0.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,130,835 shares of company stock valued at $29,165,987 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 12.60% 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.