Jefferies double-upgrades Australia's Lynas, says could be 'next beneficiary' of US support for rare earths

Lynas Rare Earths' LYC.AX shares soar 16% to A$9.63

Jumped nearly 20% earlier in session, biggest intraday pct gain since April 2020

LYC is second-highest pct gainer on benchmark S&P/ASX 200 .AXJO, which is flat

Jefferies upgrades LYC to "buy" from "underperform"; raises PT to A$10.00 from A$6.40

Highlights LYC could be "next beneficiary" of U.S. support after MP Materials MP.N secures multi-billion dollar contract to build end-to-end rare earth magnet supply chain

MP ended 50.6% higher overnight

MP-U.S. deal prices rare earths at 2x China spot price, likely to benefit LYC - Jefferies

Notes LYC's rare earth processing facility in Texas to come online by 2026

Jefferies, top sector analyst for rating accuracy, and is only one to upgrade so far, per data compiled by LSEG

Average rating of 14 analysts is "hold"; median PT A$8.98 - data compiled by LSEG

YTD, LYC up 28.9% vs mining sub-index's .AXMM 4.2% gain