Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Reduces Stake in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. trimmed its stake in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 235,400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,095 shares during the period. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in MP Materials were worth $3,672,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in MP Materials by 5.0% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 11,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,000 after acquiring an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 190,098 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,355,000 after buying an additional 910 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 35.7% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 1,246 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 38,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $605,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of MP Materials by 69.3% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 1,545 shares in the last quarter. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 386,223 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.01, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.50, for a total value of $752,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 260,021 shares in the company, valued at $5,590,451.50. The trade was a 11.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 955,890 shares of company stock valued at $20,944,628. Insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

MP Materials Stock Performance

NYSE:MP opened at $24.25 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -41.09 and a beta of 2.34. The company has a quick ratio of 6.13, a current ratio of 6.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $20.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.98. MP Materials Corp. has a twelve month low of $10.02 and a twelve month high of $26.00.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of MP Materials from $19.50 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of MP Materials from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MP Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.