Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Invests $135,000 in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $135,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,537 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake 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. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake 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. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the second quarter valued at $118,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the second quarter valued at $124,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

MP Materials Stock Down 4.0 %

Shares of MP Materials stock opened at $17.65 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $13.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.57. The company has a quick ratio of 6.17, a current ratio of 6.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. MP Materials Corp. has a 52-week low of $10.02 and a 52-week high of $20.85. The company has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a P/E ratio of -117.67 and a beta of 2.22.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($0.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.08). MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 4.28% and a negative net margin of 21.94%. The firm had revenue of $31.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.07 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal bought 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $10.84 per share, for a total transaction of $325,200.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,402,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,208,249. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 12.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on MP. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of MP Materials from $13.50 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of MP Materials from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of MP Materials from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of MP Materials from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.61.

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.