MP Materials Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:MP)

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Traders acquired 8,137 call options on the company. This is an increase of 83% compared to the typical daily volume of 4,444 call options.

MP Materials Price Performance

MP stock opened at $23.51 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $19.59 and its 200 day moving average is $17.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 6.13 and a current ratio of 6.93. MP Materials has a 52 week low of $10.02 and a 52 week high of $24.78. The firm has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a P/E ratio of -43.54 and a beta of 2.34.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11) by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $62.93 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.30 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 6.78% and a negative net margin of 32.24%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.02 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that MP Materials will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MP Materials news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.50, for a total value of $752,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 260,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,590,451.50. This trade represents a 11.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 234,667 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.68, for a total value of $4,852,913.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 17,608,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $364,141,898.12. This represents a 1.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 884,862 shares of company stock valued at $17,484,482. 12.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in MP Materials by 1.2% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,359,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,638,000 after acquiring an additional 28,697 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 1,245,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,988,000 after purchasing an additional 306,933 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of MP Materials by 48.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 899,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,035,000 after buying an additional 294,806 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in MP Materials by 425.5% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 801,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,201,000 after buying an additional 648,838 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bernzott Capital Advisors lifted its holdings in MP Materials by 43.4% in the third quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors now owns 689,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,166,000 after buying an additional 208,586 shares during the period. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on MP Materials from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of MP Materials from $19.50 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.45.

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.