Essex Investment Management Co. LLC Raises Position in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 127,706 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,058 shares during the period. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC owned approximately 0.08% of MP Materials worth $1,992,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 5.0% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 11,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. SWS Partners grew its holdings in MP Materials by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. SWS Partners now owns 162,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,535,000 after acquiring an additional 707 shares during the last quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. increased its position in shares of MP Materials by 0.4% in the third quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 255,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,509,000 after acquiring an additional 1,135 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of MP Materials by 35.7% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 1,246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of MP Materials by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 38,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MP Materials Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MP opened at $25.03 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -42.43 and a beta of 2.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 6.13 and a current ratio of 6.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $21.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.88. MP Materials Corp. has a 52-week low of $10.02 and a 52-week high of $26.00.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.05). MP Materials had a negative return on equity of 8.44% and a negative net margin of 32.09%. The firm had revenue of $60.99 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $50.71 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MP Materials Corp. will post -0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 386,223 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $375,590,254.76. This represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 12.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on MP Materials from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on MP Materials from $19.50 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.45.

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.