From what we can see, insiders were net buyers in MP Materials Corp.'s (NYSE:MP ) during the past 12 months. That is, insiders acquired the stock in greater numbers than they sold it.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

View our latest analysis for MP Materials

MP Materials Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Chief Operating Officer Michael Rosenthal bought US$382k worth of shares at a price of US$21.63 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being US$15.67). While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when an insider has purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price. Michael Rosenthal was the only individual insider to buy shares in the last twelve months.

Michael Rosenthal bought 43.00k shares over the last 12 months at an average price of US$21.49. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Does MP Materials Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It's great to see that MP Materials insiders own 12% of the company, worth about US$324m. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

So What Do The MP Materials Insider Transactions Indicate?

The fact that there have been no MP Materials insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. It would be great to see more insider buying, but overall it seems like MP Materials insiders are reasonably well aligned (owning significant chunk of the company's shares) and optimistic for the future. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. To that end, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with MP Materials (including 1 which is a bit unpleasant).

Of course MP Materials may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.