The Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC) share price charging higher again today.
Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) rare earths explorer and producer finished the day trading up 4.01% at $10.64 per share.
That puts the Lynas share price up a phenomenal 21% since the closing bell last week Tuesday. For some context, the ASX 200 is down nearly 2% over that same time.
The past week's gains give the company a market cap of $9.6 billion.
We'll look at why Lynas had such a strong week in a tick. But trouncing the benchmark returns is nothing new for the company.
What's been driving shares in the ASX 200 rare earths' producer higher?
Lynas shares have performed strongly, though certainly not without some dips, since mid-2020.
Spurred on by Western nations seeking to break China's strangle hold on the critical rare earths markets, the Lynas share price has rocketed 165% since 31 December 2020.
Speaking about Lynas to The Motley Fool's Tony Yoo last week, Red Leaf Securities CEO John Athanasiou said:
It's the only significant producer of rare earth materials outside of China. Rare earth materials are required for all sorts of things that we consume on a daily basis — from electric cars, mobile phones to superconductors. And the western world really wants a producer outside of China, so it enhances strategic importance.
That's the bigger picture. But what drove the Lynas share price to a 23% gain over this past week?
Why did the Lynas share price surge 23% in 5 trading days?
A fair bit of the heavy lifting came last Friday.
This was the day the miner reported its half year financial results for the 6 months ending December, which saw both revenue and profits up strongly year-on-year.
Net profit after tax (NPAT) of $156.9 million leapt 286% from 1H FY21 figures. And revenue increased to $314.8 million, up from $202.5 million in the prior corresponding half year.
The Lynas share price closed up 8.1% on Friday, finishing the day at $10.15 per share.
