MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $23.84 and last traded at $23.28, with a volume of 2830333 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.81.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on MP. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $13.50 to $16.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on MP Materials from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on MP Materials from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on MP Materials from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of MP Materials from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.10.

MP Materials Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $18.41 and its 200 day moving average is $15.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 6.13 and a current ratio of 6.93. The stock has a market cap of $3.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -43.11 and a beta of 2.24.

MP Materials declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, September 3rd that allows the company to buyback $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 13.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other MP Materials news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 15,195 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,398,884.30. This trade represents a 4.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 300,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.45, for a total transaction of $5,535,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 18,221,776 shares in the company, valued at $336,191,767.20. This trade represents a 1.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 650,195 shares of company stock worth $12,631,569. Insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

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

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.