MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading Down 3.8% on Insider Selling

Shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) were down 3.8% during trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $22.22 and last traded at $22.23. Approximately 1,740,037 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 46% from the average daily volume of 3,234,927 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.11.

Specifically, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 234,667 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.68, for a total transaction of $4,852,913.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 17,608,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $364,141,898.12. This represents a 1.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 35,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.50, for a total transaction of $752,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 260,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,590,451.50. The trade was a 11.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 300,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.22, for a total transaction of $6,066,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 18,043,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $364,830,996.72. This represents a 1.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MP shares. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of 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 boosted their price objective on MP Materials from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on MP Materials from $13.50 to $16.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on MP Materials from $16.00 to $18.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, 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 research report on Monday, October 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.10.

MP Materials Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a PE ratio of -37.06 and a beta of 2.24. The company has a quick ratio of 6.13, a current ratio of 6.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.64.

MP Materials declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, September 3rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 13.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its stake in shares of MP Materials by 2.8% in the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 2,819,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,895,000 after buying an additional 76,288 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of MP Materials by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,359,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,638,000 after acquiring an additional 28,697 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in MP Materials by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,355,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,993,000 after acquiring an additional 71,454 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in MP Materials by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,733,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,068,000 after acquiring an additional 26,119 shares during the period. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted 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. 52.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.