Baird Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in MP Materials Corp. $MP

Baird Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 21.1% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 192,978 shares of the company’s stock after selling 51,662 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in MP Materials were worth $6,420,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 32.9% in the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of MP Materials by 2.8% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $412,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in MP Materials by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 12,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $413,000 after buying an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in MP Materials by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,793 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,000 after buying an additional 479 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in MP Materials by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 385,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.94, for a total value of $24,231,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 13,105,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $824,889,437.10. This represents a 2.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.72, for a total value of $1,154,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 194,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,244,548.64. This represents a 9.31% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 653,411 shares of company stock worth $41,249,826 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

MP Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MP opened at $61.14 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.84 billion, a P/E ratio of -86.11 and a beta of 1.70. MP Materials Corp. has a 1-year low of $15.56 and a 1-year high of $100.25. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 8.05 and a quick ratio of 7.51.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $53.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.72 million. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 50.55% and a negative return on equity of 7.69%. The company’s revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.12) EPS. Research analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cfra Research upgraded shares of MP Materials to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of MP Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $74.00 in a report on Friday, November 14th. Daiwa America raised shares of MP Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Daiwa Capital Markets began coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on MP Materials from $78.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MP Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.91.

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.