USAR Surges 52.5% YTD: How Should Investors Play the Stock?

USA Rare Earth, Inc.’s USAR investors have been witnessing some short-term gains from the stock of late. Shares of the company have increased 52.5% in the year-to-date period, outpacing the S&P 500 composite’s and Zacks Mining - Miscellaneous industry’s growth of 18.7% and 29.2%, respectively. However, the company has lagged other key industry players like MP Materials Corp. MP and NioCorp Developments Ltd. NB over the said time frame.  MP Materials and NioCorp Developments have skyrocketed 283.5% and 330.3% respectively.

USAR’s YTD Price performance

Closing at $17.51 on Tuesday, the stock is trading significantly below its 52-week high of $43.98 but higher than its 52-week low of $5.56. The stock is also currently trading below its 50-day moving average but above its 200-day moving average, indicating a volatile trend in the share price.

USAR Shares’ 50-Day and 200-Day SMA

Challenges Faced by USA Rare Earth

USAR has a strong and developing project pipeline, including a magnet manufacturing facility in Oklahoma and a mine development in Texas. However, since its formation, the company has been in the exploration and research phases, leading to incur losses without generating any revenues.

Amid its project development phase, the company has been grappling with rising operational expenses, thereby adversely impacting its margins and profitability. In third-quarter 2025, its selling, general and administrative expenses climbed to $11.4 million from $0.8 million in the year-ago quarter, driven by an increase in legal and consulting costs, higher headcount and recruiting fees and other costs.

Research and development expenses increased to $4.45 million compared with $1.16 million due to an increase in employee-related expenses related to a rise in headcount, and other costs.

The absence of revenues and higher expenses, somewhat offset by higher interest and dividend income due to higher balances in its money market funds, led to the 25 cents per share loss in the third-quarter.

Long-Term Prospects Remain Bright

USA Rare Earth is committed to take its Stillwater magnet manufacturing facility in Oklahoma closer to commercial production. The plant has been designed to produce Neodymium Iron Boron (NdFeB) magnets, which are essential for defense, domestic, aviation, automotive and other high-growth applications.

The Stillwater facility is expected to become one of the first large-scale magnet plants in the United States, supporting the country’s efforts to build a domestic rare earth supply chain. The company has been actively involved in installing equipment, assembling Line 1a and preparing for commissioning the Stillwater facility in first-quarter 2026.

USAR also began hiring and training engineers and technicians to operate the facility. These efforts are likely to help USAR to reach commercial-scale production and help it secure long-term customer contracts. It also holds certain mining rights to the Round Top Mountain deposit near Sierra Blanca, TX, but has not begun mineral extraction.

In order to progress with its business plan, USA Rare Earth raised significant capital through PIPE financing and warrant exercises, bringing its total cash position to more than $400 million as of November 2025. This funding is being used to make upgrades at the Stillwater plant, expand magnet finishing capabilities and complete Line 1b to increase total NdFeB magnet-producing capacity to roughly 1,200 metric tons.

The company also completed the acquisition of LCM, a UK-based leading manufacturer of specialized rare earth metals and both cast and strip cast alloys. The buyout will significantly accelerate USA Rare Earth’s mine-to-magnet strategy, establishing an end-to-end rare earth supply chain.

USAR’s Estimate Revisions

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for USAR’s bottom line for 2025 and 2026 has decreased in the past 60 days.

Valuation

From a valuation standpoint, USA Rare Earth is trading at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of a negative 41.32X against the industry average of 15.44X. In comparison, MP Materials and NioCorp Developments are trading at 88.72X and a negative 20.83X, respectively.

Final Take

USAR’s strong pipeline of developing projects, strategic acquisitions and supply-chain efforts are likely to drive its long-term performance. Nevertheless, the ongoing challenges, including lack of operational projects and increasing project development costs are likely to continue to impact this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company’s near-term performance.

While current shareholders should hold their positions, new investors should wait for the stock to retract some of its recent gains and provide a better entry point. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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