M&T Bank Corp Purchases 21,034 Shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)

M&T Bank Corp grew its position in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 82.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,607 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,034 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in MP Materials were worth $823,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in MP Materials by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 11,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,000 after acquiring an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. grew its stake in shares of MP Materials by 0.5% during the third quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 190,098 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,355,000 after purchasing an additional 910 shares during the last quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel increased its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 1.7% in the second quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 66,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $842,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122 shares in the last quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. raised its position in MP Materials by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 255,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,509,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in MP Materials by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 16,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 1,228 shares in the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MP has been the subject of several research reports. DA Davidson lifted their target price on MP Materials from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of MP Materials from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of MP Materials from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.10.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 300,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.45, for a total transaction of $5,535,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 18,221,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $336,191,767.20. This represents a 1.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 35,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.50, for a total transaction of $752,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 260,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,590,451.50. The trade was a 11.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 884,862 shares of company stock worth $17,484,482 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

MP Materials Trading Down 3.0 %

MP opened at $18.79 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $19.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.75. The firm has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of -34.80 and a beta of 2.24. MP Materials Corp. has a twelve month low of $10.02 and a twelve month high of $24.01. 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 announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, September 3rd that permits the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 13.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.