MP Materials Stock Jumps 20%. How Apple Gave It a Huge Boost.

A truck unloads raw ore during the crushing process at the Mountain Pass mine, operated by MP Materials, in Mountain Pass, Calif.. (Joe Buglewicz/Bloomberg)

MP Materials stock just won’t stop. Shares rose again on another blockbuster deal.

Tuesday, the rare-earth metals miner announced that Apple has made a $500 million commitment to purchase recycled rare-earth magnets from it.

Shares of MP Materials gained 20%, closing at $58.22, a record closing high. Apple stock rose 0.2%, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4% and 1%, respectively.

The move left MP stock up 91% over the past month. Shares jumped after MP struck an agreement on Thursday to provide rare-earth materials to the Department of Defense in a deal that establishes a price floor for its products. The share price jumped more than 50%.

For Apple, MP will expand the capacity of its flagship magnetics facility in Fort Worth, Texas. The two companies will develop jointly a supply line to process recycled materials at MP’s site in Mountain Pass, Calif. Shipments are expected to begin in 2027, but Apple will make a prepayment of $200 million as part of the deal.

MP mines rare-earth materials in California and produces magnets in Texas. Recycling is a new venture for investors to consider.

Rare-earth materials are often used in magnets for smartphones, computers, and other electronics, as well as items with defense applications like electric motors and navigation equipment.

MP is the largest producer of rare earths in the Western Hemisphere, but China remains the leader in mining the materials and controls about 85% of global refining capacity. Some of MP’s concentrate is still processed in China.

Recycling is an important part of any mature metals supply chain. It accounted for almost 10% of U.S. copper consumption in 2024, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Recycling reduces waste, eases pressure on miners, and reduces reliance on foreign suppliers.

The agreement Tuesday “continues to expand on MP’s commercial momentum,” wrote Matt J. Summerville of D.A. Davidson in a note, with Apple becoming the anchor for MP’s expansion at its Texas facility.

MP stock started the year at about $16 a share. Wall Street has had trouble keeping up with recent gains. The top target price at the start of the year was about $30 a share, according to Bloomberg. It moved to $55 a share after the Defense Department deal. Wall Street will have to take target prices up again, based on the new business with Apple.

Write to Nate Wolf at nate.wolf@barrons.com