Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Acquires New Shares in MP Materials Corp. $MP

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. bought a new position in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 25,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,692,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new position in MP Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings in MP Materials by 4,600.0% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 564 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank grew its position in MP Materials by 500.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 600 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew 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. Institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 272,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,805,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $821,758,774.05. This trade represents a 2.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $2,288,760.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 156,666 shares in the company, valued at $9,399,960. This represents a 19.58% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 723,146 shares of company stock valued at $45,767,276 over the last three months. 12.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

MP Materials Stock Performance

Shares of MP opened at $58.43 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.42. 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 Corp. has a 52 week low of $18.64 and a 52 week high of $100.25. The stock has a market cap of $10.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -82.29 and a beta of 1.60.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised MP Materials from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $76.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, November 24th. Morgan Stanley upgraded MP Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $68.50 to $71.00 in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $77.00 price target for the company. Finally, William Blair initiated coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MP Materials currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.91.

About MP Materials

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.