Aberdeen Group plc Sells 20,790 Shares of MP Materials Corp. $MP

Aberdeen Group plc reduced its position in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 19.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 86,233 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,790 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in MP Materials were worth $5,879,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in MP Materials by 420.0% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 4,600.0% in the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank grew its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 500.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in MP Materials by 75.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 642 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. 52.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MP Materials news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $2,288,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 156,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,399,960. This represents a 19.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 272,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.17, for a total transaction of $17,492,742.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,805,965 shares in the company, valued at $821,758,774.05. This represents a 2.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 723,146 shares of company stock valued at $45,767,276 in the last ninety days. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets raised MP Materials from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $76.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, November 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded MP Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $75.00 to $74.00 in a report on Friday, November 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, William Blair began coverage on MP Materials in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.91.

MP Materials Trading Down 5.5%

NYSE MP opened at $55.31 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -77.91 and a beta of 1.60. MP Materials Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $18.64 and a fifty-two week high of $100.25. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 7.51 and a current ratio of 8.05.

MP Materials 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.