MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Price Target Raised to $16.00 at Morgan Stanley

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) had its price objective upped by Morgan Stanley from $13.50 to $16.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on MP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on MP Materials from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on MP Materials from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Bank of America reduced their target price on MP Materials from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Benchmark restated a buy rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Monday, July 15th. They set a market perform rating and a $16.50 price objective on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MP Materials has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $20.11.

MP Materials Price Performance

MP opened at $13.89 on Thursday. MP Materials has a 52-week low of $10.02 and a 52-week high of $20.85. The company has a 50 day moving average of $13.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.49. The company has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -92.60 and a beta of 2.22. The company has a quick ratio of 6.17, a current ratio of 6.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($0.17) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.08). MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 4.28% and a negative net margin of 21.94%. The company had revenue of $31.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.07 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 51.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that MP Materials will post -0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

MP Materials announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, September 3rd that authorizes the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 13.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In related news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal acquired 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $10.84 per share, for a total transaction of $325,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer now owns 1,402,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,208,249. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 12.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in MP Materials by 153,700.0% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 1,537 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of MP Materials by 3,803.8% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 3,956 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the second quarter worth $72,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials during the second quarter valued at $100,000. Finally, Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in MP Materials by 15.9% in the first quarter. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership now owns 8,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MP Materials Company Profile

MP Materials Corp., together with its subsidiaries, produces rare earth materials. The company owns and operates the Mountain Pass Rare Earth mine and processing facility in North America. It holds the mineral rights to the Mountain Pass mine and surrounding areas, as well as intellectual property rights related to the processing and development of rare earth minerals.