MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Price Target Raised to $16.00

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) had its price target hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $13.50 to $16.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. 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. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on MP Materials from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 15th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on MP Materials in a research note on Monday, July 15th. They set a market perform rating and a $16.50 target price for the company. Bank of America dropped their price target on MP Materials from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $20.11.

MP Materials Stock Performance

MP stock opened at $13.89 on Thursday. MP Materials has a 1-year low of $10.02 and a 1-year high of $20.85. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $13.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.49. The firm has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a PE ratio of -92.60 and a beta of 2.22. The company has a current ratio of 6.90, a quick ratio of 6.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($0.17) 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 company had revenue of $31.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that MP Materials will post -0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal bought 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $10.84 per share, for a total transaction of $325,200.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,402,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,208,249. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 12.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of MP Materials by 153,700.0% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,537 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in MP Materials by 3,803.8% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 3,956 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in MP Materials during the second quarter worth about $72,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in MP Materials in the second quarter worth about $100,000. Finally, Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership boosted its stake in 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 last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.