Key Takeaways
- The rare earth producer delivered Q4 earnings per share of $0.09, exceeding Wall Street’s $0.08 forecast and crushing the Zacks projection of $0.04 with a +145.23% earnings surprise
- Quarterly revenue totaled $52.69 million, falling short of the $76.06 million analyst consensus by 11.6%
- Shares advanced 2.3% following the earnings announcement, reaching an intraday peak of $60.29, with year-to-date gains around 16.1%
- Company executives offloaded 723,146 shares valued at approximately $45.8 million during the previous three-month period, with the CEO and CFO among the sellers
- Wall Street maintains a “Buy” consensus rating with a mean price objective of $78.91
Shares of MP Materials (MP) advanced 2.3% during Thursday’s trading session after the rare earth elements producer announced fourth quarter 2025 results that exceeded profit expectations.
The equity reached an intraday peak of $60.29 before closing near $60.00, up from the previous session’s close of $58.66. Trading volume registered approximately 6.55 million shares, roughly 23% lighter than typical daily activity.
The company reported quarterly earnings per share of $0.09, surpassing the broad analyst consensus of $0.08 and significantly exceeding Zacks’ more conservative estimate of $0.04. The result represented an earnings surprise of +145.23%, a remarkable outperformance.
This marks a substantial improvement from the prior-year period when the company recorded a loss of $0.12 per share. MP has now exceeded earnings forecasts in three of the past four reporting periods.
The top-line story proved less encouraging. The company generated $52.69 million in quarterly revenue, missing the analyst consensus of $76.06 million by approximately 11.6%. This also represents a decline from the $60.99 million reported in the comparable year-ago period.
The rare earth miner currently shows a negative net margin of 50.55% alongside a negative return on equity of 7.69%, numbers that reflect the substantial capital requirements associated with its ongoing expansion initiatives.
Executive Stock Sales
Company insiders have been actively reducing their positions. Chief Financial Officer Ryan Corbett divested 38,146 shares on December 9th at an average price of $60.00, trimming his holdings by 19.58%. Chief Executive Officer James Litinsky executed a larger transaction in January, selling 272,600 shares at $64.17 each in a deal valued at more than $17.4 million.
Cumulatively, company insiders have sold 723,146 shares worth roughly $45.8 million during the last three-month period. Insider ownership currently represents approximately 9.5% of outstanding shares.
Institutional investors have demonstrated opposite behavior, increasing their positions. Corient Private Wealth expanded its stake by 404.4% during Q4, while Pacer Advisors boosted its holdings by 71.7%. Institutional ownership currently accounts for 52.55% of shares.
Wall Street Outlook
The analyst community maintains an optimistic stance on MP. According to MarketBeat data, the average rating stands at “Buy,” with a consensus price target of $78.91 — representing substantial upside from current levels.
Goldman Sachs launched coverage in November with a “Buy” rating and $77.00 price objective. Morgan Stanley elevated the stock to “Overweight” in December, lifting its target to $71.00. JPMorgan similarly upgraded to “Overweight” in November, though it modestly reduced its price target to $74.00.
BMO Capital Markets shifted from “Market Perform” to “Outperform,” while Wall Street Zen issued the only negative call, downgrading to “Sell” in November.
Among tracked analysts, two maintain “Strong Buy” ratings, thirteen rate it “Buy,” and one has issued a “Sell” rating.
The stock has appreciated approximately 16.1% year-to-date, outpacing the S&P 500’s 1.5% gain over the same timeframe.
Zacks consensus projections for the upcoming quarter call for $0.07 in earnings per share on $76.36 million in revenue, with full-year 2026 estimates forecasting $0.59 EPS on total revenue of $418.47 million.
Technically, the stock’s 50-day moving average stands at $59.89, compared to a 200-day moving average of $64.38. The company’s market capitalization is currently $10.63 billion.
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