** Shares of Canada's The Metals Company TMC.O rise 23% to $1.29

** Brokerage Alliance Global Partners starts coverage on TMC with a "buy" rating and PT of $3.75

** PT represents a 257.14% upside to the stock's last close

** Brokerage says it believes TMC has "first-mover advantage in the nodule collection segment of the battery materials market"

** Says TMC has rights to one of the largest undeveloped nickel projects in the world, which also hosts significant amounts of copper, cobalt and manganese

** Notes TMC’s data collection studies show that seafloor nodule collection causes "less environmental disruption" compared to traditional mining methods

** Brokerage says government's support for seafloor resource development is "accelerating", which is expected to improve permitting processes and benefit companies like TMC

** Says adoption of the International Seabed Authority's Mining Code, expected within a year, could unlock commercial operations for TMC

** TMC gained 4.7% in 2024

(Reporting by Kamal Choudhury in Bengaluru)

((Kamal.Choudhury@thomsonreuters.com;))