MP Materials COO increases shareholding

MP Materials’ (NYSE: MP) chief operating officer Michael Rosenthal has added to his stake in the company amid overall weakness in the critical minerals mining sector.

In a securities filing dated June 10, Rosenthal, through his family trust, purchased an additional 10,000 shares at a price of $54.30 per share.

According to the SEC disclosure, Rosenthal now has 136,622 shares in MP Materials. For comparison, CEO James Litinsky holds about 11.8 million shares.

The stock closed at about $53 apiece on the day of the insider buy disclosure, for a market capitalization of $9.5 billion.

Since hitting an all-time high of $100.25 in October, MP Materials’ share price and market value have essentially halved.

However, compared to a year ago, the stock price has nearly doubled, owing to increased investor interest in the critical minerals sector, with MP Materials seen as a leading player for its status as the only rare earth miner in the US.

The company’s share price saw a significant jump last July after it announced a public-private partnership with the Department of Defense, which included a landmark $400 million equity investment.