Why Molycorp's Shares Popped

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of rare-earth mineral miner Molycorp (NYS: MCP) rose 13% in late afternoon trading today, after the company announced the startup of its heavy rare-earth concentrate facilities.

So what: Project Phoenix, as the project is known, is now moving into the final phase after the startup of the concentrate facilities. The company is on schedule with the project and expects full production to be reached in the fourth quarter.

Now what: There isn't really anything new here, and I think the market is reacting to news we already knew was coming. The stock may be doing a bit of a dead-cat bounce, since it's coming off fresh lows.

Operationally, there are a lot of unknowns for Molycorp. Rare-earth mineral prices have been crushed in recent months, affecting the company's profitability. The company may still have some potential with the vertical integration it has bolted on in the past two years, but I still see this as a wait-and-see stock. Catching a falling knife is never a good idea, and we don't know when Molycorp is going to hit bottom.

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The article Why Molycorp's Shares Popped originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Travis Hoium has no position in any company mentioned. You can follow Travis on Twitter at @FlushDrawFool, check out his personal stock holdings, or follow his CAPS picks at TMFFlushDraw.Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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