MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Stock Price Down 3.4% Following Insider Selling

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s stock price dropped 3.4% on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $63.59 and last traded at $64.5730. Approximately 4,997,309 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 29% from the average daily volume of 7,032,807 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.83.

Specifically, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.58, for a total transaction of $3,229,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,805,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $762,429,219.70. This represents a 0.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 234,651 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.87, for a total value of $15,456,461.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,855,965 shares in the company, valued at $780,952,414.55. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In other news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 115,349 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.37, for a total transaction of $7,540,364.13. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,090,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $790,363,567.92. This represents a 0.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MP has been the topic of several research reports. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $82.00 price target on MP Materials in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays assumed coverage on MP Materials in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $69.00 price target on the stock. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.08.

MP Materials Stock Down 3.4%

The business has a fifty day moving average of $59.36 and a 200 day moving average of $59.52. The firm has a market cap of $11.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -153.75 and a beta of 1.90. The company has a quick ratio of 6.58, a current ratio of 7.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.04. The business had revenue of $90.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $74.82 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 2.27% and a negative net margin of 28.00%.The firm’s revenue was up 49.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.12) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Costello Asset Management INC increased its holdings in MP Materials by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 1,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Composition Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Composition Wealth LLC now owns 18,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 4.7% in the third quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC now owns 19,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,009,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 1.0% in the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 21,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $713,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

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.