Molycorp Drops on Capital Raises, Guidance Cut

Shares of Molycorp MCP gapped down at the open on Wednesday after the company said it had to raise capital and lower its forward guidance. Molycorp announced that it was offering $200 million of common stock and $100 million of senior convertible notes. Further, the company warned that its production in the first half of 2013 was likely to be substantially lower than had been seen, while cash flow was likely be significantly less. Even with the proposed offering, Molycorp said it saw a $250 million cash shortfall in 2013. Shares were down as much as 11 percent, before reversing somewhat. Early on Wednesday, MCP was down about 7 percent. Molycorp has been a phenomenal disappointment for investors over the last two years. Shares peaked in the summer of 2011 around $70 per share. Since then, Molycorp has undergone a collapse in its share price. Still, even down today, MCP is off its recent low around $6 per share hit back in November. Laurence Balter, an analyst at Oracle Investment Research, has been bullish on Molycorp for some time, and remains bullish even in the face of Wednesday's news. “They are raising less than I thought,” Balter told Benzinga, referring to Wednesday' capital announcement. “Investors need to be patient.” Shares of Molycorp traded around $8.20 early Wednesday.