Aberdeen Group plc Cuts Stock Holdings in MP Materials Corp. $MP

Aberdeen Group plc lowered its position in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 86,233 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,790 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in MP Materials were worth $5,879,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its position in MP Materials by 28.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 806 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of MP Materials by 1.0% during the third quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 18,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,218,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in MP Materials by 1.7% during the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 11,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $872,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. IMG Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in MP Materials by 4.7% during the third quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC boosted its position in MP Materials by 1.0% in the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 21,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $713,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered MP Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of MP Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $68.50 to $71.00 in a report on Friday, December 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $77.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of MP Materials from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $76.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of MP Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $74.00 in a report on Friday, November 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MP Materials currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $78.91.

MP Materials Price Performance

MP Materials stock opened at $55.31 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -77.91 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a quick ratio of 7.51, a current ratio of 8.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.69. MP Materials Corp. has a 52 week low of $18.64 and a 52 week high of $100.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 385,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 13,105,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $824,889,437.10. This represents a 2.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of MP Materials 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 156,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,399,960. The trade was a 19.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 723,146 shares of company stock valued at $45,767,276 in the last three months. 9.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

MP Materials Company 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.