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

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) had its target price increased by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $13.50 to $16.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential upside of 15.23% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on MP. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of MP Materials from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on MP Materials in a research report on Monday, July 15th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $16.50 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.11.

MP Materials Stock Performance

Shares of MP Materials stock opened at $13.89 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 6.90, a quick ratio of 6.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $13.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.49. The firm has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -92.57 and a beta of 2.22. MP Materials has a 12 month low of $10.02 and a 12 month high of $20.85.

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

MP Materials declared that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 reacquire up to 13.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal acquired 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $10.84 per share, with a total value of $325,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer now owns 1,402,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,208,249. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 12.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of MP Materials

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in MP Materials by 2.3% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 35,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $506,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in MP Materials by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 74,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,473,000 after acquiring an additional 1,014 shares in the last quarter. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership raised its position in MP Materials by 15.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel raised its position in MP Materials by 1.7% during the second quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 66,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $842,000 after acquiring an additional 1,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in MP Materials by 8.2% in the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 16,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 1,228 shares during the period. 52.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.