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.
Image source: Getty Images
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.
