Clearbridge Investments LLC Has $8.99 Million Stock Position in MP Materials Corp. $MP

Clearbridge Investments LLC decreased its position in shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 16.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 178,023 shares of the company’s stock after selling 35,349 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.10% of MP Materials worth $8,994,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new stake in MP Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in MP Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Consulate Inc. increased its holdings in MP Materials by 555.3% in the fourth quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. now owns 557 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in MP Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in MP Materials by 75.9% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 642 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

MP Materials Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:MP opened at $53.40 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $9.51 billion, a P/E ratio of -127.15 and a beta of 1.86. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $61.11 and its 200-day moving average is $59.68. MP Materials Corp. has a 52-week low of $23.26 and a 52-week high of $100.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 6.58 and a current ratio of 7.18.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MP shares. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of MP Materials in a report on Friday, June 5th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Monday, June 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $69.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $80.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 46,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $2,760,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 129,017 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,020. The trade was a 26.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 259,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total transaction of $16,595,231.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,505,965 shares in the company, valued at $800,756,938.95. This represents a 2.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,251,167 shares of company stock valued at $82,131,654. Corporate insiders own 8.20% of the company’s stock.

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.