USA Rare Earth Inc. (NASDAQ: USAR) experienced a notable increase in its stock price, which surged by 7.6% to reach $12.81 during trading on Friday. The stock peaked at $12.85, with approximately 1,058,773 shares changing hands. This trading volume marked a significant decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 9,512,856 shares, following a previous close of $11.90.
Analysts Weigh In on USA Rare Earth
The stock’s performance has drawn attention from various brokerage firms. On November 6, Weiss Ratings maintained a “sell (d-)” rating for USA Rare Earth shares, reflecting caution among some analysts. Conversely, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating the same day, reinforcing confidence in the company’s potential for growth.
William Blair initiated coverage on USA Rare Earth on October 20, granting it an “outperform” rating, indicative of optimism about the company’s prospects. Canaccord Genuity Group further raised its target price for the stock from $22.00 to $23.00, supporting its “buy” classification in a report released on November 7. Roth Capital set an even more ambitious target price at $40.00 in a research note dated October 10.
Overall, six analysts have assigned a “buy” rating to USA Rare Earth, while one has issued a “sell” rating. The consensus rating stands at “Moderate Buy,” with an average target price of $26.33, according to MarketBeat data.
Recent Earnings and Institutional Activity
USA Rare Earth announced its latest earnings results on November 6, revealing a loss of $0.25 per share for the quarter. This figure fell short of analysts’ expectations, which had predicted a loss of only $0.06 per share, highlighting challenges the company faces in achieving profitability.
Institutional investors have also been active regarding USA Rare Earth shares. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. significantly increased its stake in the company by 44.0% during the third quarter, now holding 12,799,325 shares valued at approximately $219.03 million after acquiring an additional 3,909,455 shares.
Additionally, Altfest L J & Co. Inc. initiated a new position in the company worth about $13.55 million, while Newtyn Management LLC entered with a new investment valued at around $4.11 million. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings by a staggering 2,437.5%, now owning 653,290 shares worth approximately $7.16 million following an additional purchase of 627,545 shares. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL also established a new position valued at around $8.30 million during the same quarter.
USA Rare Earth operates at the forefront of critical minerals, focusing on a fully integrated rare earth element (REE) and lithium project in the United States. Its flagship asset, the Round Top deposit located in West Texas, is recognized for its substantial polymetallic concentration of light and heavy rare earth elements, lithium, and other co-products.
The company aims to advance this project through resource delineation, pilot-scale processing, and eventual commercial production to meet the growing domestic demand for secure REE supply chains. Furthermore, USA Rare Earth is engineering an on-site separation facility that plans to utilize dry magnetic separation and hydrometallurgical flowsheets to produce mixed rare earth carbonates.
As the market continues to react to both analyst ratings and institutional movements, stakeholders in USA Rare Earth will be keenly watching how these developments affect the company’s trajectory in the competitive landscape of critical minerals.
