Energy Fuels Inc (NYSE:UUUU) stock is up 8.4% to trade at $19.57 at last check, after the critical minerals name achieved its first U.S. production of 99.9%-pure terbium oxide at its White Mesa mill in Utah. Expanded commercial operations now eyeing a target of 2027, a step in the right direction toward shoring up domestic rare earth production. Sector peer MP Materials (MP) is 2.3% higher today, enjoying a halo lift from the breakthrough.
UUUU is up 34% year to date, and has more than quadrupled year over year. Shares are now pacing for their third-straight gain, but remain roughly 30% off their Jan. 28, 15-year high of $27.90.
A short squeeze could bring the security back to those highs. Short interest is down 3.2% in the last two reporting periods, yet the 35.09 million shares sold short still account for 14.8% of UUUU's total available float.
Though calls have been outweighing puts on an absolute basis, puts have been picked up at a much faster-than-usual rate in the last two weeks. The equity's 10-day put/call volume ratio at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) ranks higher than 96% of readings from the past year.
