VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Takes $677,000 Position in MP Materials Corp. $MP

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 10,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $677,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in MP Materials in the 2nd quarter worth $132,238,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of MP Materials by 19,314.3% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,013,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,987,000 after buying an additional 2,003,091 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in MP Materials by 76.3% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,921,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,200,000 after acquiring an additional 1,264,243 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in MP Materials by 429.3% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,550,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,839,000 after purchasing an additional 1,257,282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $19,962,000. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MP Materials Stock Up 8.9%

MP stock opened at $55.01 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $57.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.21. The company has a market cap of $9.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -77.48 and a beta of 1.62. MP Materials Corp. has a 12-month low of $16.51 and a 12-month high of $100.25. The company has a quick ratio of 7.51, a current ratio of 8.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.05. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 50.55% and a negative return on equity of 7.69%. The business had revenue of $53.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.72 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.12) EPS. MP Materials’s revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MP shares. Daiwa Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America increased their price target on MP Materials from $78.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of MP Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $68.50 to $71.00 in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Daiwa America raised MP Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $77.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.91.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In other news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $2,288,760.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 156,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,399,960. This represents a 19.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 385,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.94, for a total value of $24,231,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 13,105,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $824,889,437.10. This trade represents a 2.85% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 691,557 shares of company stock valued at $43,538,586 over the last three months. Insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

MP Materials Company Profile

MP Materials Corporation operates as a vertically integrated producer of rare earth materials in North America. The company owns and manages the Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine and Processing Facility in California, the only commercially viable rare earth mining and processing site in the United States. MP Materials extracts, separates and refines critical rare earth elements—such as neodymium, praseodymium, and cerium—which are essential inputs for permanent magnets used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, and various defense applications.

The Mountain Pass mine first began commercial rare earth production in the 1950s and was later operated by Molycorp until its bankruptcy in 2015.