The Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC) share price took a slight nosedive yesterday despite no obvious announcements made by the company.
Still, yesterday’s 10% drop doesn’t seem too bad when Lynas’ shares have been on a non-stop rampage over the past twelve months and have returned over 350%.
LYC share price
Lynas background
Lynas is one of only two companies in the world that’s involved in rare earth processing outside of China. Its deposit is located in Mt Weld, Western Australia, where its products are eventually used in things such as electronics, catalytic converters, and electric vehicles (EVs).
Lynas’ raw materials are shipped to its processing facility in Malaysia to be separated into high-quality rare earth materials.
What happened to the LYC share price yesterday?
While no announcements have been made, it was noted shares in another major rare earths company, MP Materials Corp (NYSE: MP) fell 18% during its most recent trading day.
The American company announced a major shareholder would be selling 8 million shares through a secondary offering. MP Materials also announced it would be raising $500 million through a convertible note.
It’s also possible that a capital raising announced by Australian Strategic Minerals Limited (ASX: ASM) might also partly explain the drop in Lynas’ shares.
Why did this affect Lynas?
The US markets clearly didn’t react positively to insider selling and potential shareholder dilution.
Some Australian companies quite often mirror the day-to-day performance of US-listed stocks. This could happen for many reasons, but a lot of the time, it can just be sentiment driven.
Could Lynas’ shares be a buy?
The company’s H1 FY21 results confirmed its strong growth trajectory, which you can read here.
In summary, there was a 12% increase in revenue to $202.5 million, and a whopping 944% increase in net profit after tax (NPAT) to $40.6 million.
Management attributed its strong results to a growing demand for EVs, consumer electronics and the global smart home market.
Like many other commodity producers, Lynas must accept the market price for its materials based on supply and demand, but it appears it’s performing extremely well at the moment due to the current demand for rare earth materials.
I don’t know what rare earths will be worth in 5-10 years’ time, so it’s not something I’d typically be investing with a longer-term investment horizon.
For more shares ideas, click here to read: 3 ASX growth shares I’d happily buy this week.
