Arizona State Retirement System Increases Stock Position in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)

Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 30.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,729 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,385 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in MP Materials were worth $789,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 3,848.0% in the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,924 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $118,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 120.6% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134 shares during the period. Finally, Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 79.7% in the first quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 920 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

MP Materials Stock Performance

Shares of MP Materials stock opened at $16.79 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 129.13 and a beta of 2.41. MP Materials Corp. has a 12 month low of $12.68 and a 12 month high of $27.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 10.42 and a quick ratio of 9.54.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05). MP Materials had a net margin of 9.59% and a return on equity of 3.86%. The business had revenue of $41.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.40 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of MP Materials from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $15.50 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of MP Materials from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on shares of MP Materials from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of MP Materials from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of MP Materials from $36.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MP Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.19.

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.