JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Price Target to $18.00

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) had its target price raised by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $15.00 to $18.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 3.12% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on MP. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. DA Davidson lifted their price target on MP Materials from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on MP Materials from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on MP Materials from $15.50 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on MP Materials from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.15.

MP Materials Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of MP stock opened at $18.58 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 6.17 and a current ratio of 6.90. MP Materials has a twelve month low of $10.02 and a twelve month high of $20.85. The company has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -123.87 and a beta of 2.23.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($0.17) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $31.26 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.03 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 4.28% and a negative net margin of 21.94%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.07 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that MP Materials will post -0.48 EPS for the current year.

MP Materials announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, September 3rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 13.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

In related news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal purchased 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $10.84 per share, for a total transaction of $325,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,402,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,208,249. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MP Materials

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MP. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 2,536.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,661,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,767,000 after purchasing an additional 1,598,861 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 425.5% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 801,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,201,000 after acquiring an additional 648,838 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 188.1% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 898,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,462,000 after acquiring an additional 586,906 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 151.1% during the second quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 815,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,382,000 after acquiring an additional 490,767 shares during the period. Finally, Regal Partners Ltd lifted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 275.4% during the second quarter. Regal Partners Ltd now owns 464,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,907,000 after acquiring an additional 340,426 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

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.