MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading Down 8% After Analyst Downgrade

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s share price traded down 8% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $69.00 to $65.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. MP Materials traded as low as $44.45 and last traded at $45.5050. 9,243,701 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 40% from the average daily volume of 6,606,997 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.46.

MP has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on MP Materials from $70.00 to $71.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on MP Materials from $70.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on MP Materials in a research note on Monday, June 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $81.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of MP Materials from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

In other news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 109,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,176,275. This represents a 15.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal purchased 17,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $56.62 per share, for a total transaction of $962,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,333,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,512,565.26. This trade represents a 1.29% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 1,164,346 shares of company stock worth $76,757,068 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 8.20% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting MP Materials

Here are the key news stories impacting MP Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays cut its price target on MP Materials to $65 from $69, but kept an Overweight rating, suggesting analysts still see meaningful upside from current levels. Barclays lowers MP Materials price target but keeps Overweight rating
• Positive Sentiment: MP Materials announced it will report second-quarter 2026 results on August 6, which keeps investors focused on upcoming catalysts and could provide clarity on production, costs, and the company’s rare-earth scale-up progress. MP Materials announces date for second quarter 2026 financial results and webcast
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analyst write-ups highlighted MP’s improving operating performance, strong liquidity, and policy support from the U.S. rare-earth push, but also noted premium valuation and execution risks around project ramp-up. MP Materials stock outlook hinges on rare earth scale-up plans
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage sentiment remains constructive overall, with an average “Buy” recommendation from analysts, reinforcing a generally favorable outlook. MP Materials receives average recommendation of Buy from brokerages
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary also stressed rising costs, incomplete project ramps, and customer/execution uncertainty, which could limit earnings momentum and help explain why MP remains volatile. MP Materials and the U.S. rare earth push are starting to align

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. EMC Capital Management acquired a new position in MP Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Consulate Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 555.3% during the fourth quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. now owns 557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

MP Materials Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 6.58, a current ratio of 7.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $58.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -107.73 and a beta of 1.86.

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

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.