MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Down 8.2% on Disappointing Earnings

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s share price traded down 8.2% on Friday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as low as $21.89 and last traded at $21.90. 2,352,842 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 35% from the average session volume of 3,634,599 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.85.

The company reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $60.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.74 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 8.44% and a negative net margin of 32.09%. MP Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.04) EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on MP Materials from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of MP Materials from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.94.

Insider Activity

In other MP Materials news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total value of $405,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 214,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,799,924. The trade was a 6.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 199,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.08, for a total value of $5,393,794.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,643,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,454,498.08. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 943,792 shares of company stock worth $25,286,567 in the last quarter. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MP. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $6,284,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $399,000. Oak Family Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $530,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $388,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in MP Materials by 167.3% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 35,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $560,000 after buying an additional 22,473 shares during the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MP Materials Stock Down 7.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 6.93 and a quick ratio of 6.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a P/E ratio of -37.24 and a beta of 2.24. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.88.

MP Materials Company Profile

MP Materials Corp., together with its subsidiaries, produces rare earth materials. The company owns and operates the Mountain Pass Rare Earth mine and processing facility in North America. It holds the mineral rights to the Mountain Pass mine and surrounding areas, as well as intellectual property rights related to the processing and development of rare earth minerals.