MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Price Target Raised to $16.00

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) had its price target boosted by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $13.50 to $16.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential upside of 9.59% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on MP. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of MP Materials from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of MP Materials from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of MP Materials from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MP Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.11.

MP Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MP traded up $0.48 during trading on Thursday, reaching $14.60. The company had a trading volume of 957,730 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,200,975. MP Materials has a twelve month low of $10.02 and a twelve month high of $20.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a PE ratio of -97.07 and a beta of 2.22. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $13.15 and its 200 day moving average is $14.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 6.17 and a current ratio of 6.90.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($0.17) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $31.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.03 million. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 21.94% and a negative return on equity of 4.28%. The firm’s revenue was down 51.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.07 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that MP Materials will post -0.44 EPS for the current year.

MP Materials announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, September 3rd that allows the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 13.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal purchased 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $10.84 per share, with a total value of $325,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer now owns 1,402,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,208,249. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 12.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of MP Materials

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in MP Materials by 153,700.0% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 1,537 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of MP Materials by 3,803.8% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 3,956 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the second quarter valued at about $72,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the second quarter valued at about $100,000. Finally, Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of MP Materials by 15.9% in the first quarter. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership now owns 8,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.