Analysts Set MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) Target Price at $21.40

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $22.10.

A number of brokerages recently commented on MP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on MP Materials from $13.50 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on MP Materials from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on MP Materials from $16.00 to $18.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.50, for a total value of $752,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 260,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,590,451.50. This represents a 11.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 300,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 18,221,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $336,191,767.20. The trade was a 1.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 650,195 shares of company stock valued at $12,631,569 over the last quarter. 12.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of MP Materials by 1.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,861,266 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,216,000 after purchasing an additional 225,554 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its stake in shares of MP Materials by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 2,819,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,895,000 after buying an additional 76,288 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in MP Materials by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,359,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,638,000 after buying an additional 28,697 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in MP Materials by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,355,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,993,000 after buying an additional 71,454 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in MP Materials by 1.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,733,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,068,000 after buying an additional 26,119 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

MP Materials Trading Up 1.1 %

MP stock opened at $21.07 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a PE ratio of -39.02 and a beta of 2.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 6.13 and a current ratio of 6.93. MP Materials has a one year low of $10.02 and a one year high of $21.70. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $18.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.55.

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

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.