MP Materials Corp. $MP Shares Sold by Baillie Gifford & Co.

Baillie Gifford & Co. lessened its stake in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 27.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 954,604 shares of the company’s stock after selling 363,370 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned 0.54% of MP Materials worth $64,025,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MP. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its holdings in MP Materials by 28.1% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of MP Materials by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 18,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,218,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital increased its position in shares of MP Materials by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 11,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $872,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 21,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $713,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of MP Materials by 420.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MP Materials Stock Up 1.7%

MP Materials stock opened at $69.56 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -97.97 and a beta of 1.62. 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 fifty-two week low of $18.64 and a fifty-two week high of $100.25. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.31.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.05. The company 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%.The firm’s revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.12) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Thursday. Bank of America upped their price objective on MP Materials from $78.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on MP Materials in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $77.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of MP Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $68.50 to $71.00 in a research note on Friday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 385,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 13,105,965 shares in the company, valued at $824,889,437.10. This represents a 2.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 38,146 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 156,666 shares in the company, valued at $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 sold a total of 991,557 shares of company stock worth $62,785,202 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

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.