MP Materials (MP) stock climbed more than 9% on Friday, trading at $60.16, as policy support and strong earnings lifted critical minerals shares.

The broader Materials sector led the market, rising 2.09%. By comparison, the S&P 500 gained 0.42% and the Nasdaq added 0.31%.

The latest catalyst came from the U.S. Department of Energy, which selected seven projects aimed at expanding domestic critical mineral processing, battery manufacturing, and recycling capacity. For companies like MP, federal support aimed at the processing stage is notable because refining and midstream capacity — not just mining — is where the domestic supply chain has the most ground to make up. Investors also continued to focus on the sector amid President Trump’s “Unleashing American Energy” executive order, which has kept domestic mineral supply chains in the spotlight for much of 2026.

MP Materials Corp. operates the Mountain Pass facility in California, the only rare earth mining and processing site of scale in North America. That position has given the company a strategic advantage as Washington works to reduce reliance on Chinese supply chains, which still dominate global rare earth refining and the production of the finished magnets made from those materials.

The “Physical AI” theme is also drawing renewed attention to MP’s U.S.-sourced rare earth magnets. As demand for AI hardware and robotics grows, the materials used to build that equipment have attracted more investor interest.

Strong Q2 2026 Results Support the Move

MP’s second-quarter 2026 results added support to the rally. Revenue rose 89% year-over-year, while neodymium-praseodymium output increased 51%. NdPr is a key input for the high-strength magnets used in electric vehicle motors, wind turbine generators, robotics, and hard disk drives, which makes production volumes at Mountain Pass a closely watched gauge of the company’s trajectory. Those results provided a clear backdrop for Friday’s move higher.

The company is also moving further downstream into magnet manufacturing and has been securing defense-linked contracts, broadening its revenue base beyond raw material extraction.

Even so, MP is still burning cash. Heavy capital spending on new facilities means the company has not yet translated higher volumes into consistent profits. How quickly the downstream magnet build-out and defense-related work convert into revenue — and how much additional capital they consume along the way — remains an important point for investors to watch.

Technical Indicators Turn More Positive

From a technical standpoint, MP moved above its 100-day and 200-day simple moving averages on Friday. The stock also traded above its 20-day and 50-day averages.

The MACD remained above its signal line, with a positive histogram, which pointed to strengthening buying pressure.

The stock formed a “death cross” in July, when the 50-day moving average crossed below the 200-day average. Since then, it has rebounded from its July low. MP’s 52-week range is $37.81 to $100.25.

Resistance is near $61, while support is around $53.50.

Analyst Ratings Remain Bullish

On the analyst side, JPMorgan maintained an Overweight rating with a $60 price target on July 29. Needham reiterated a Buy rating with a $73 target on July 22, and Barclays kept an Overweight rating with a $65 target on July 16.

The overall analyst consensus remains Buy, with an average price target of $71.79.

MP also has exposure through the VanEck Rare Earth and Strategic Metals ETF (REMX), where it carries a 6.27% weighting, and the Sprott Critical Materials ETF (SETM), where it has a 3.19% weighting, tying the stock to broader flows into critical-minerals funds.

MP stock was up 9.3% at $60.16 at the time of publication on Friday.