MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Price Target Raised to $26.00

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) had its target price boosted by Canaccord Genuity Group from $23.00 to $26.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 28.40% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on MP. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on MP Materials from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of MP Materials from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of MP Materials from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $13.50 to $16.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.10.

MP Materials Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of MP stock opened at $20.25 on Wednesday. MP Materials has a fifty-two week low of $10.02 and a fifty-two week high of $21.04. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $17.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -37.50 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 announced that its board has approved 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 reacquire 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 shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 15,195 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.30, for a total value of $278,068.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 295,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,398,884.30. The trade was a 4.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 300,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.45, for a total transaction of $5,535,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 18,221,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $336,191,767.20. This represents a 1.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MP Materials

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its stake in MP Materials by 32.7% in the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 1,245,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,988,000 after buying an additional 306,933 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 806.0% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 42,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $758,000 after acquiring an additional 38,204 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of MP Materials by 35.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 604,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,676,000 after acquiring an additional 159,200 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in MP Materials by 1.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,861,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,216,000 after purchasing an additional 225,554 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in MP Materials by 2,536.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,661,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,767,000 after purchasing an additional 1,598,861 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

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.