Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 111,929 Shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lowered its holdings in shares of MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) by 13.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 729,863 shares of the company’s stock after selling 111,929 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 0.45% of MP Materials worth $11,386,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of MP Materials by 160.1% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 30,762 shares of the company’s stock worth $543,000 after acquiring an additional 18,934 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in MP Materials by 673.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,432 shares of the company’s stock valued at $449,000 after purchasing an additional 22,144 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in MP Materials by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 462,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,161,000 after purchasing an additional 19,077 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MP Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.55% of the company’s stock.

MP Materials Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MP opened at $25.14 on Thursday. MP Materials Corp. has a 52-week low of $10.02 and a 52-week high of $27.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.61 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.41.

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

Insider Activity at MP Materials

In related news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 489,918 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total transaction of $13,115,104.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 15,153,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $405,650,039.66. The trade was a 3.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total transaction of $405,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 214,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,799,924. This represents a 6.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,130,835 shares of company stock worth $29,165,987. Corporate insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on MP. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on MP Materials from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. DA Davidson upped their price target on MP Materials from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.61.

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.