Analysts Set MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) PT at $21.40

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $21.40.

A number of research firms have recently commented on MP. DA Davidson raised their price objective on MP Materials from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price 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 dropped their target price on MP Materials from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on MP Materials from $16.00 to $18.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on MP Materials from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st.

MP Materials Stock Performance

MP Materials stock opened at $20.86 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $17.87 and its 200-day moving average is $15.41. The company has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.62 and a beta of 2.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 6.93 and a quick ratio of 6.13. MP Materials has a 12 month low of $10.02 and a 12 month high of $21.04.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 2,536.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,661,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,767,000 after purchasing an additional 1,598,861 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 425.5% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 801,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,201,000 after purchasing an additional 648,838 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 188.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 898,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,462,000 after purchasing an additional 586,906 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 151.1% in the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 815,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,382,000 after purchasing an additional 490,767 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Regal Partners Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 275.4% in the 2nd quarter. Regal Partners Ltd now owns 464,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,907,000 after purchasing an additional 340,426 shares during the last quarter. 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.