Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 434,148 Shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)

Van ECK Associates Corp lessened its holdings in shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 18.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,891,645 shares of the company’s stock after selling 434,148 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 1.16% of MP Materials worth $29,510,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in MP Materials by 1.2% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,359,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,638,000 after purchasing an additional 28,697 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its holdings in MP Materials by 32.7% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors grew its holdings in MP Materials by 43.4% during the third quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors now owns 689,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,166,000 after purchasing an additional 208,586 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in MP Materials by 35.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 604,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,676,000 after purchasing an additional 159,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its holdings in MP Materials by 13.3% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 505,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,923,000 after purchasing an additional 59,469 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 300,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.22, for a total transaction of $6,066,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 18,043,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $364,830,996.72. This trade represents a 1.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 15,195 shares of MP Materials 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 295,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,398,884.30. The trade was a 4.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,271,085 shares of company stock worth $26,757,696 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

MP Materials Stock Down 2.7 %

MP opened at $23.72 on Friday. MP Materials Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $10.02 and a fifty-two week high of $26.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 6.93 and a quick ratio of 6.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $20.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.54. The company has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -43.92 and a beta of 2.34.

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.