** Wedbush upgrades deep-sea mining firm TMC The Metals Company TMC.O rating to "outperform" from "neutral"; raises price target to $11 from $6

** Shares up 20.4% in the morning trade

** The new price target represents a 66.4% upside to the stock's last closing price

** Brokerage says TMC is well-positioned due to its first mover advantage in deep sea mining, also receiving significant U.S. support, in a bid to reduce dependency on China in the global supply of critical rare earth minerals

** "TMC finds itself in a unique position within the critical mineral supply chain with minimal competition on the production front over the coming years" - Wedbush

** All 5 brokerages covering TMC rate the stock "buy" or higher; median PT is $6.40 - data compiled by LSEG

** Including session's moves, TMC shares up 600.9% YTD

(Reporting by Sumit Saha in Bengaluru)

((Sumit.Saha@thomsonreuters.com;))