DA Davidson Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for MP Materials (NYSE:MP)

MP Materials (NYSE:MP)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at DA Davidson in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $82.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 36.51% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on MP. Morgan Stanley raised shares of MP Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $68.50 to $71.00 in a research note on Friday, December 5th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded MP Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $74.00 in a report on Friday, November 14th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of MP Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $77.00 target price 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $78.91.

MP Materials Price Performance

MP Materials stock opened at $60.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -115.52 and a beta of 1.55. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $61.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 6.67 and a current ratio of 7.24. MP Materials has a 1 year low of $18.64 and a 1 year high of $100.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 272,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.17, for a total value of $17,492,742.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,805,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $821,758,774.05. This represents a 2.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in MP Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $132,238,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 19,314.3% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,013,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,987,000 after purchasing an additional 2,003,091 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,531,000. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. increased its stake in MP Materials by 168.4% during the 3rd quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 2,589,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $173,705,000 after buying an additional 1,624,908 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in MP Materials by 76.3% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,921,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,200,000 after buying an additional 1,264,243 shares during the period. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.