MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Given Buy Rating at DA Davidson

DA Davidson reissued their buy rating on shares of MP Materials (NYSE:MP) in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. DA Davidson currently has a $82.00 price objective on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 report on Friday, November 14th. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of MP Materials in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $68.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday, November 10th. TD Securities upgraded shares of MP Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $77.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.91.

MP Materials Stock Performance

Shares of MP stock opened at $58.03 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $10.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -81.73 and a beta of 1.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $59.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.80. The company has a current ratio of 8.05, a quick ratio of 7.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. MP Materials has a 12 month low of $18.64 and a 12 month high of $100.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

In other news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 385,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.94, for a total value of $24,231,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 13,105,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $824,889,437.10. This represents a 2.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $2,288,760.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 156,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,399,960. This trade represents a 19.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 723,146 shares of company stock worth $45,767,276 over the last three months. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MP. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth $477,000. Vident Advisory LLC raised its position in MP Materials by 415.2% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 28,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,441,000 after buying an additional 22,990 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 38.0% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 5,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 1,558 shares during the period. Kitching Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $253,000. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury increased its stake in shares of MP Materials by 207.1% during the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 52,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,653,000 after acquiring an additional 35,421 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

About MP Materials

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.