MP Materials Corp. $MP Shares Sold by ARS Investment Partners LLC

ARS Investment Partners LLC cut its holdings in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 69.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,780 shares of the company’s stock after selling 45,252 shares during the period. ARS Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in MP Materials were worth $1,327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MP. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in MP Materials by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 46,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,126,000 after acquiring an additional 4,018 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of MP Materials by 6.6% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,043,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,463,000 after purchasing an additional 64,843 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 6.4% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 195,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,761,000 after purchasing an additional 11,783 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $962,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in MP Materials by 73.7% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,657,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,455,000 after buying an additional 703,042 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 385,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.94, for a total transaction of $24,231,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 13,105,965 shares in the company, valued at $824,889,437.10. This represents a 2.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $2,288,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 156,666 shares in the company, valued at $9,399,960. The trade was a 19.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 691,557 shares of company stock worth $43,538,586 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of MP Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Daiwa Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of MP Materials in a report on Monday, September 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded shares of MP Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.91.

MP Materials Stock Performance

Shares of MP opened at $54.61 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -76.91 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 7.51 and a current ratio of 8.05. MP Materials Corp. has a 1 year low of $15.56 and a 1 year high of $100.25. The company’s fifty day moving average is $60.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.95.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $53.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.72 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 7.69% and a negative net margin of 50.55%.MP Materials’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.12) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

MP Materials Profile

MP Materials Corporation operates as a vertically integrated producer of rare earth materials in North America. The company owns and manages the Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine and Processing Facility in California, the only commercially viable rare earth mining and processing site in the United States. MP Materials extracts, separates and refines critical rare earth elements—such as neodymium, praseodymium, and cerium—which are essential inputs for permanent magnets used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, and various defense applications.

The Mountain Pass mine first began commercial rare earth production in the 1950s and was later operated by Molycorp until its bankruptcy in 2015.