The Mountain Pass mine, operated by MP Materials, which has a deal to provide General Motors with rare-earth magnets.
Joe Buglewicz/Bloomberg
MP Materials stock surged earlier this month after the U.S. rare-earths miner reached a deal “to develop a fully integrated U.S. supply chain for rare-earth magnets” with General Motors . In the wake of the higher stock price, MP Materials director Randall Weisenburger bought up shares.
MP Materials (ticker: MP) announced Dec. 9 that it will supply rare-earth materials, alloy, and finished magnets for the motors of electric vehicles to GM (GM) “with a gradual production ramp that begins in 2023.” Planned vehicles under the deal include more than a dozen models, among them the GMC Hummer EV, Cadillac Lyriq, and Chevrolet Silverado EV.” MP Materials also said it would build the company’s first magnetics factory in Fort Worth, Texas, sourcing materials from MP Materials’ Mountain Pass, Calif., mine. MP Materials stock sports a year-to-date gain of 34%, compared with a 26% rise in the S&P 500 index.
Weisenburger paid $3.5 million on Dec. 15 for 86,901 MP Materials shares, a per-share average price of $40.10. Those shares now represent his total ownership of MP Materials stock, according to a form he filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A former chief financial officer of Omnicom Group (OMC), Weisenburger joined MP Materials’ board in 2020 when the company went public through a special-purpose acquisition company.
Weisenburger declined to comment on his stock purchase.
On Dec. 10, after the pact with GM was announced, J.P. Morgan analyst Michael Glick increased his December 2022 price target on MP Materials stock to $52 from $45. Glick, who rates MP Materials at Overweight, cited forecasts for higher rare-earth prices. MP Materials’ move into rare-earth magnets “could drive multiple expansion for the company,” he wrote in a research report.
Inside Scoop is a regular Barron’s feature covering stock transactions by corporate executives and board members—so-called insiders—as well as large shareholders, politicians, and other prominent figures. Due to their insider status, these investors are required to disclose stock trades with the Securities and Exchange Commission or other regulatory groups.
Write to Ed Lin at [email protected] and follow @BarronsEdLin.
