USA Rare Earth Inc. (USAR) saw its stock price soar 5.16% in pre-market trading on Tuesday, driven by significant corporate expansion announcements and positive analyst sentiment.

The rare earth minerals company announced it has selected Cherokee County, South Carolina as the site for a new magnet manufacturing and refined metals operation, with a planned investment of $1.2 billion. The project is expected to create approximately 490 high-skill manufacturing jobs and targets production capacity of 6,400 metric tons per year of sintered neodymium-iron-boron rare earth magnets and 5,000 metric tons per year of strip-cast metal and alloy. Commissioning of the Blacksburg facility is targeted to begin in 2028.

Adding to the positive sentiment, investment bank Needham initiated coverage on USA Rare Earth with a "Buy" rating and a $39 price target. The analyst noted that the company has assembled a unique portfolio of assets across the entire industry value chain and is positioned to benefit from the global trend of reducing dependence on China for rare earth permanent magnet supply. With the acquisition of Serra Verde expected to close in the third quarter and plans for initial magnet product shipments starting in the second half of 2026, USA Rare Earth is described as being "on the cusp of a major capacity ramp."