Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on MP Materials (NYSE:MP)

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Traders acquired 88,666 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 56% compared to the typical volume of 56,748 call options.

MP Materials Stock Performance

Shares of MP stock opened at $76.98 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $13.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -122.18 and a beta of 2.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $67.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.54. The company has a current ratio of 3.60, a quick ratio of 3.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. MP Materials has a 12 month low of $15.56 and a 12 month high of $82.50.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $57.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.84 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 9.34% and a negative net margin of 41.87%.MP Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 83.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.17) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that MP Materials will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MP shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $20.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of MP Materials from $32.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Cfra Research raised MP Materials to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on MP Materials from $64.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on MP Materials from $52.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MP Materials news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal sold 150,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.02, for a total value of $10,803,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 1,284,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $92,503,136.18. The trade was a 10.46% 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. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in MP Materials by 100.9% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 10,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 5,365 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $219,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of MP Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $163,000. Aegis Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in MP Materials during the 4th quarter worth $156,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in MP Materials by 3,618.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 140,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,426,000 after acquiring an additional 136,583 shares during the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.