MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Price Target Cut to $14.00

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) had its price target lowered by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $15.50 to $14.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 2.41% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also commented on MP. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on MP Materials from $36.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on MP Materials from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on MP Materials from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered MP Materials from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MP Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.43.

MP Materials Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MP opened at $13.67 on Friday. MP Materials has a 52-week low of $12.68 and a 52-week high of $26.53. The stock has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -91.13 and a beta of 2.28. The company has a quick ratio of 9.28, a current ratio of 10.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $16.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.26.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported ($0.08) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $48.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $46.00 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 0.61% and a net margin of 1.62%. Equities analysts predict that MP Materials will post -0.25 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 50,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.93, for a total value of $846,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 325,021 shares in the company, valued at $5,502,605.53. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.93, for a total value of $846,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 325,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,502,605.53. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Andrew A. Mcknight sold 317,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total value of $5,741,742.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 86,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,554,020. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in MP Materials by 65.7% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 81,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 32,354 shares in the last quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel grew its stake in MP Materials by 14.9% during the 1st quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 65,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $930,000 after purchasing an additional 8,451 shares in the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in MP Materials by 51.5% during the 1st quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 78,747 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,126,000 after purchasing an additional 26,759 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its stake in MP Materials by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 47,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $675,000 after purchasing an additional 5,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in MP Materials during the 1st quarter worth $356,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

About MP Materials

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.