MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $23.84 and last traded at $23.28, with a volume of 2830333 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.81.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on MP Materials from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of MP Materials from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of MP Materials from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on MP Materials from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on MP Materials from $16.00 to $18.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.10.

MP Materials Stock Up 12.6 %

The company has a market cap of $3.82 billion, a PE ratio of -43.11 and a beta of 2.24. The company has a quick ratio of 6.13, a current ratio of 6.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company’s fifty day moving average is $18.41 and its 200-day moving average is $15.51.

MP Materials declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, September 3rd that permits the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 13.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In other news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 15,195 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.30, for a total transaction of $278,068.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 295,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,398,884.30. This represents a 4.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 300,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.45, for a total value of $5,535,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 18,221,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $336,191,767.20. This represents a 1.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 650,195 shares of company stock valued at $12,631,569. 12.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 425.5% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 801,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,201,000 after purchasing an additional 648,838 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 188.1% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 898,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,462,000 after buying an additional 586,906 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 151.1% in the second quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 815,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,382,000 after buying an additional 490,767 shares during the period. Regal Partners Ltd raised its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 275.4% in the second quarter. Regal Partners Ltd now owns 464,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,907,000 after buying an additional 340,426 shares during the period. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC boosted its holdings in MP Materials by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 1,245,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,988,000 after acquiring an additional 306,933 shares during the period. 52.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About MP Materials

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.