Robert W. Baird Raises MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Price Target to $25.00

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) had its price objective lifted by Robert W. Baird from $20.00 to $25.00 in a research report report published on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on MP Materials from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Monday, July 15th. They set a market perform rating and a $16.50 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target 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. Benchmark reiterated a buy rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of MP Materials in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MP Materials presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $20.61.

MP Materials Trading Down 4.0 %

Shares of MP stock opened at $17.65 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $13.31 and a 200-day moving average of $14.57. 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 has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -117.67 and a beta of 2.22. MP Materials has a 1-year low of $10.02 and a 1-year high of $20.85.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $31.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.03 million. MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 4.28% and a negative net margin of 21.94%. The business’s revenue was down 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.07 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that MP Materials will post -0.47 earnings per share for the current year.

MP Materials declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, September 3rd that permits the company to buyback $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 13.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of MP Materials by 2,536.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,661,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,767,000 after buying an additional 1,598,861 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in MP Materials by 425.5% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 801,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,201,000 after purchasing an additional 648,838 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in MP Materials by 188.1% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 898,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,462,000 after purchasing an additional 586,906 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in MP Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $10,484,000. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 490,767 shares in the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is currently 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.