Advisors Asset Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 70,679 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,822 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in MP Materials were worth $1,247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its position in shares of MP Materials by 32.7% in the third 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 last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MP Materials by 806.0% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 42,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $758,000 after purchasing an additional 38,204 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of MP Materials by 35.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 604,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,676,000 after purchasing an additional 159,200 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in MP Materials by 1.7% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in MP Materials by 2,536.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,661,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,767,000 after buying an additional 1,598,861 shares during the period. 52.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of MP Materials from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on MP Materials from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on MP Materials from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on MP Materials from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.40.

MP Materials Price Performance

MP stock opened at $20.86 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -38.62 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 Corp. has a 1 year low of $10.02 and a 1 year high of $21.04. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.41.

MP Materials announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, September 3rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 13.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.