China's Dominance in Rare Earths: China controls over 90% of global refined rare earths and has significant influence over the processing of these critical minerals, which are essential for various industries including electric vehicles and military applications.
Bilateral Efforts to Reduce Dependence: A recent $4 billion deal between Australia and the U.S. aims to enhance mining and processing capabilities outside of China, but challenges remain due to China's export controls and the lengthy development time for new mining projects.
Skills Shortage in Mining Sector: There is a significant skills gap in the mining industry, particularly in rare earth processing, with a shortage of experts in the U.S., Europe, and Japan compared to China's established workforce.
Long-Term Disruption Risks: The combination of China's export restrictions, technological barriers, and the global skills shortage suggests that the world will continue to face risks and challenges related to reliance on Chinese rare earths for the foreseeable future.
Wall Street analysts forecast MP stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for MP is 76.13 USD with a low forecast of 55.27 USD and a high forecast of 94.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
11 Analyst Rating
Wall Street analysts forecast MP stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for MP is 76.13 USD with a low forecast of 55.27 USD and a high forecast of 94.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
11 Buy
0 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 68.370
Low
55.27
Averages
76.13
High
94.00
Current: 68.370
Low
55.27
Averages
76.13
High
94.00
Morgan Stanley
NULL -> Overweight
upgrade
2025-12-09
Reason
Morgan Stanley
Price Target
AI Analysis
2025-12-09
upgrade
NULL -> Overweight
Reason
Mixed options sentiment in MP Materials (MP), with shares down 60c near $60.59. Options volume relatively light with 5218 contracts traded and calls leading puts for a put/call ratio of 0.98, compared to a typical level near 0.52. Implied volatility (IV30) dropped 1.48 near 70.03,and below the 52wk median, suggesting an expected daily move of $2.67. Put-call skew flattened, suggesting a modestly bullish tone, following an upgrade to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Morgan Stanley
NULL -> Overweight
upgrade
2025-12-08
Reason
Morgan Stanley
Price Target
2025-12-08
upgrade
NULL -> Overweight
Reason
Mixed options sentiment in MP Materials (MP), with shares down $1.53 near $60.56. Options volume relatively light with 16k contracts traded and calls leading puts for a put/call ratio of 0.42, compared to a typical level near 0.52. Implied volatility (IV30) dropped 0.37 near 71.43,and below the 52wk median, suggesting an expected daily move of $2.72. Put-call skew steepened, indicating increased demand for downside protection, following an upgrade to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
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Morgan Stanley
Equal Weight -> Overweight
upgrade
$71
2025-12-05
Reason
Morgan Stanley
Price Target
$71
2025-12-05
upgrade
Equal Weight -> Overweight
Reason
Morgan Stanley upgraded MP Materials to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $71, up from $68.50. The firm says China's one-year pause on rare earth restrictions does not solve the U.S.'s critical mineral dependency issues. MP is positioned to benefit as the U.S. looks to develop a robust supply chain outside of China, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Morgan Stanley sees potential for more commercial deals to be announced as magnet users diversify.
BofA
Buy
downgrade
$112 -> $94
2025-11-24
Reason
BofA
Price Target
$112 -> $94
2025-11-24
downgrade
Buy
Reason
BofA lowered the firm's price target on MP Materials to $94 from $112 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm is refreshing its price forecasts for North American Metals & Mining stocks under its coverage, the analyst tells investors. The firm sees the macro backdrop as challenging due to China's slowing commodity demand but notes this may be offset by a rebound in demand in U.S. and Europe.
About MP
MP Materials Corp. produces specialty materials that are vital inputs for electrification and other advanced technologies. The Company owns and operates the Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine and Processing Facility (Mountain Pass) located in California. It is also developing a rare earth metal, alloy and magnet manufacturing facility in Fort Worth, Texas (Independence Facility). The Company’s segments include Materials and Magnetics. The Materials segment operates Mountain Pass, which produces refined rare earth products as well as rare earth concentrate and related products. The Materials segment primarily generates revenue from sales of rare earth concentrate, primarily sold for further distribution to a single, principal customer in China, and sales of neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) oxide and metal, primarily sold to customers in Japan, South Korea, and broader Asia. The Magnetics segment operates the Independence Facility, where it produces magnetic precursor products.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
