MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) stock is surging on Tuesday, driven primarily by a broad sector-wide rally in critical minerals and materials rather than single-company news.
The Nasdaq is up 1.24% while the S&P 500 has gained 0.58%. Meanwhile, the materials sector is adding 0.76%, helping set a supportive backdrop for a sharp bounce in MP stock, which remains down 13.58% over the past month.
Treasury Yields Move Lower
A sharp decline in U.S. Treasury yields from recent multi-year highs has alleviated pressure on growth-oriented and capital-intensive resource companies like MP.
The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury held below 5% following a three-week decline that pushed the benchmark yield to one-month lows, according to Trading Economics.
Critical Minerals Catch Bids
The Materials sector ranks third among the market’s 11 sectors, trailing technology, up 1.67% and consumer discretionary, up 0.98%.
The sector has gained 4.62% over the past 30 days but remains nearly unchanged over the past 90 days, up just 0.03%.
Critical mineral peers also advanced, pushing USA Rare Earth Inc (NASDAQ:USAR) up 13.30% and United States Antimony Corp (NYSE:UAMY) up 12.81%.
Upcoming Earnings
MP Materials reports financial results on Nov. 5. Consensus estimates project a loss of 1 cent per share, improving from a 10-cent loss year-over-year. Revenue is estimated at $116.68 million, up from $53.55 million in the prior-year quarter.
Technical Analysis
Even after Tuesday’s pop, MP is still trading 6% below its 20-day SMA ($42.69) and 27.8% below its 200-day SMA ($55.59), keeping the bigger-picture trend tilted bearish. The 20-day SMA remains below the 50-day SMA, and the death cross that formed in July (50-day below the 200-day) continues to frame rallies as counter-trend until the stock can reclaim key moving averages.
Strong Buy Consensus
Benzinga analyst consensus rates the stock a Buy, with 15 of 17 analysts recommending it and two assigning a Hold rating. The average price forecast is $64, implying 60.1% upside.
Morgan Stanley lowered its price forecast to $66 while maintaining an Overweight rating on Oct. 7, while Baird cut its forecast to $65 and maintained Outperform on Oct. 1. Freedom Broker initiated coverage with a Hold rating and a $57 price forecast on Sept. 16.
MP Stock Price Activity: MP Materials shares were up 7.37% at $40.23 at the time of publication on Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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