MP Materials Corporation (NYSE:MP) is up 4% to trade at $57.48 this morning, after receiving an upgrade from BMO Capital to "outperform" from "market perform." The analyst did, however, slash its price target by $1 to $75.
The firm cited the recent drop in rare-earth pricing and lack of concern regarding the impact of China's export restriction removal. Heading into today, analysts were already leaning bullish toward the equity, with 12 of 15 sporting a "buy" or "strong buy" recommendation.
The company is fresh off last week's narrower-than-expected third-quarter loss, saying it expects the current quarter to return to profitability. This, combined with news of the metal specialist's joint venture with Saudi Arabia briefly took the shares above $60 -- a recent level of contention for the stock. Despite pulling back from record highs, MP remains up 272% for 2025.
These options are reasonably priced at the moment, too. The stock’s Schaeffer’s Volatility Index (SVI) of 79% ranks in the lowest possible percentile of its annual range, meaning options traders are pricing in low volatility expectations.
