MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) Position Boosted by Bernzott Capital Advisors

Bernzott Capital Advisors boosted its holdings in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 43.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 689,270 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 208,586 shares during the period. MP Materials makes up about 5.2% of Bernzott Capital Advisors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Bernzott Capital Advisors’ holdings in MP Materials were worth $12,166,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in MP Materials by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,635,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $270,669,000 after purchasing an additional 254,881 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its stake in shares of MP Materials by 2.3% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 35,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $506,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of MP Materials by 2.4% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 539,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,708,000 after buying an additional 12,415 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in MP Materials by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 62,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $888,000 after acquiring an additional 8,376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. lifted its position in MP Materials by 32.6% during the 1st quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 177,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,536,000 after acquiring an additional 43,628 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

MP Materials Stock Performance

NYSE:MP traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $19.05. The stock had a trading volume of 521,321 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,284,475. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -47.68 and a beta of 2.23. MP Materials Corp. has a 52 week low of $10.02 and a 52 week high of $20.85.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($0.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.08). MP Materials had a negative net margin of 21.94% and a negative return on equity of 4.28%. The company had revenue of $31.26 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.07 earnings per share. MP Materials’s revenue for the quarter was down 51.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MP Materials announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, September 3rd that allows the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 13.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of MP Materials from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on MP Materials from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on MP Materials from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Michael Stuart Rosenthal acquired 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $10.84 per share, for a total transaction of $325,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,402,975 shares in the company, valued at $15,208,249. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 12.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MP Materials 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.