MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.05 EPS

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.05), Zacks reports. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 6.78% and a negative net margin of 32.24%.

MP Materials Price Performance

MP stock traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $23.25. 1,917,136 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,277,531. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 6.93 and a quick ratio of 6.13. MP Materials has a 12-month low of $10.02 and a 12-month high of $26.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $20.28 and its 200 day moving average is $17.80. The company has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.05 and a beta of 2.34.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on MP Materials from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on MP Materials from $19.50 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.45.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 386,223 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.01, for a total value of $9,273,214.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 15,643,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $375,590,254.76. This trade represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.50, for a total transaction of $752,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 260,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,590,451.50. The trade was a 11.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 955,890 shares of company stock worth $20,944,628 over the last three months. 12.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.