MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $22.45, but opened at $24.04. MP Materials shares last traded at $24.13, with a volume of 979,259 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on MP shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on MP Materials from $19.50 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on MP Materials from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MP Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.45.

MP Materials Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $21.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.71. The company has a current ratio of 6.93, a quick ratio of 6.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $3.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -41.41 and a beta of 2.32.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.05). MP Materials had a negative net margin of 32.09% and a negative return on equity of 8.44%. The business had revenue of $60.99 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $50.71 million. On average, equities analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 386,223 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.01, for a total transaction of $9,273,214.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 15,643,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $375,590,254.76. This trade represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 12.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 40.3% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in MP Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in MP Materials by 205.4% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 1,849 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in MP Materials by 204.7% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in MP Materials by 69.3% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 1,545 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

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.