MP Materials is one stock that could benefit from the Trump administration’s push to bring critical minerals supply chains to the U.S., according to Deutsche Bank. The bank upgraded shares of the rare earth mine operator to buy from hold. Analyst Corinne Blanchard also raised her price target to $71 per share from $68, which signals upside of 21%. Shares of MP Materials are up a staggering 276% this year after the Pentagon became the company’s largest shareholder . MP YTD mountain MP YTD chart “We believe MP now represents a buying opportunity for investors wanting to have exposure to the thematic of critical minerals and Rare Earth on the medium to long-term,” Blanchard wrote. “MP is the only player in the West as a fully integrated Rare Earth company, which is also backed up by the U.S. government.” Blanchard applauded MP’s growth path ahead, noting that the government is helping support an elevated pricing floor of $110 per kg. The company unveiled accounting details on its agreement with the government and floor price mechanisms on Thursday night, and Blanchard noted that it is likely these have not been accounted for in current Street numbers. “We have incorporated those into our model and based on our conversation with Management, we are assuming that current stockpiles (even if stockpiled prior to 10/1) and inventory will benefit from the $110kg floor price once converted to sale,” she added. The analyst also applauded MP’s track record of execution in the last two years, from restarting its mine to magnet production. She noted that she remains “confident in MP’s path ahead.” “We believe we could see further upside in numbers in the coming quarters, depending on refinery progress and whether a mine plan optimization could come into play at Mountain Pass, although we believe those would be medium- to long-term added opportunities,” Blanchard added. MP Materials rose 3% in the premarket following the upgrade.
