Advisors Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 10.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 70,679 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,822 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in MP Materials were worth $1,247,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MP. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in MP Materials by 136.0% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of MP Materials by 3,803.8% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 3,956 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 817.5% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 3,262 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $72,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in MP Materials by 35.7% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 1,246 shares in the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 300,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.45, for a total value of $5,535,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 18,221,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $336,191,767.20. This trade represents a 1.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 15,195 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.30, for a total transaction of $278,068.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 295,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,398,884.30. The trade was a 4.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. DA Davidson lifted their target price on MP Materials from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on MP Materials from $13.50 to $16.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of MP Materials from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $16.00 to $18.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.40.

MP Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MP opened at $20.86 on Tuesday. MP Materials Corp. has a 52 week low of $10.02 and a 52 week high of $21.04. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $17.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.41. The company has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -38.62 and a beta of 2.23. The company has a quick ratio of 6.13, a current ratio of 6.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

MP Materials announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, September 3rd that permits the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 13.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.