Why MP Materials Stock Is Falling Thursday?

MP Materials Corp (NYSE:MP) shares are trading lower during Thursday's session. The rare earth miner is facing a dual threat of macroeconomic instability and internal selling pressure. Geopolitical Tensions Rock Markets Global markets are reeling from escalating Middle East conflicts. Reports indicate an attack on Iran's South Pars gas field. Additionally, Qatar's Ras Laffan LNG facility sustained damage. The Nasdaq has dropped 0.72% while the S&P 500 shed 0.58%. The S&P 500 Materials sector is sliding 2.4% in response. C-Suite Offloads Shares Company-specific pressure is mounting following small insider selling. According to Benzinga, CFO Ryan Corbett sold $2.76 million in stock on March 17. This sale reduced his total ownership by 26.28%. General Counsel Elliot Hoops also shed his position through sales in January and March. Short Interest Landscape The latest short interest report shows a slight decline in bearish bets. Short interest fell from 24.79 million to 23.32 million shares. Currently, 14.41% of the company's float is sold short. Based on average volume, shorts would need 4.85 days to cover. Technical Analysis MP is trading 11.3% below its 20-day simple moving average (SMA) and 12.2% below its 100-day SMA, showing the stock is in a pullback phase versus its intermediate trend. Even after the drop, shares are up 96.01% over the past 12 months, and the stock is positioned closer to its 52-week low than its 52-week high. The RSI is at 45.71, which sits in neutral territory. Meanwhile, MACD is at -0.3727 and below its signal line at -0.2347. Key Resistance: $61.50 Key Support: $51.00 MP Stock Price Activity: MP Materials shares were down 9.26% at $52.21 at the time of publication on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data. Photo by Piotr Swat via Shutterstock