Comparing MP Materials (NYSE:MP) & Metals Acquisition (NYSE:MTAL)

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) and Metals Acquisition (NYSE:MTAL) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, institutional ownership and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for MP Materials and Metals Acquisition, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MP Materials	0	4	6	0	2.60
Metals Acquisition	0	1	2	0	2.67

MP Materials currently has a consensus price target of $20.85, suggesting a potential upside of 20.03%. Metals Acquisition has a consensus price target of $15.00, suggesting a potential upside of 15.65%. Given MP Materials’ higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe MP Materials is more favorable than Metals Acquisition.

Volatility & Risk

MP Materials has a beta of 2.23, indicating that its stock price is 123% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Metals Acquisition has a beta of 0.04, indicating that its stock price is 96% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

52.5% of MP Materials shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.5% of Metals Acquisition shares are held by institutional investors. 12.6% of MP Materials shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of Metals Acquisition shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares MP Materials and Metals Acquisition’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MP Materials	-21.94%	-4.28%	-2.28%
Metals Acquisition	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares MP Materials and Metals Acquisition”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MP Materials	$173.66 million	16.54	$24.31 million	($0.15)	-115.80
Metals Acquisition	$322.58 million	2.02	-$144.55 million	N/A	N/A

MP Materials has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Metals Acquisition.

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. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada.

About Metals Acquisition

Metals Acquisition Limited focuses on mining and production of copper and silver. It operates the CSA copper mine in Cobar, Australia. The company was incorporated in 2022 and is headquartered in Saint Helier, Jersey.