MP Materials Corp. (MP) shares rallied 12.4% in the last trading session to close at $20.46. This move can be attributable to notable volume with a higher number of shares being traded than in a typical session. This compares to the stock's 7.7% loss over the past four weeks.

MP Materials’ shares have been rising amid escalating U.S.-China tensions. The company stands to gain as its Mountain Pass facility is America’s only scaled rare earth production source. MP is focused on expanding production, refining operations and ensuring independence of the United States from China in the rare earths sector, which is critical for electric vehicles and AI technology.

This company is expected to post quarterly loss of $0.12 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -500%. Revenues are expected to be $50.58 million, up 22.7% from the year-ago quarter.

Earnings and revenue growth expectations certainly give a good sense of the potential strength in a stock, but empirical research shows that trends in earnings estimate revisions are strongly correlated with near-term stock price movements.

For MP Materials, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 12.2% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. And a positive trend in earnings estimate revision usually translates into price appreciation. So, make sure to keep an eye on MP going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>

MP Materials is part of the Zacks Mining - Miscellaneous industry. Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF), another stock in the same industry, closed the last trading session 4.2% higher at $9.90. CLF has returned -19.8% in the past month.

For Cleveland-Cliffs , the consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has changed -57% over the past month to -$0.50. This represents a change of -900% from what the company reported a year ago. Cleveland-Cliffs currently has a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell).

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