Rare earth stocks have been, well, bad lately. That hasn't dampened Wall Street's enthusiasm, though.

Shares of rare earth miner USA Rare Earth picked up a new Buy rating on Wednesday from Jefferies analyst Laurence Alexander. His price target is $21. Barron's hasn't seen a full copy of the report. Jefferies didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

USA Rare Earth stock was up 2.1% at $17.62 in premarket trading, while S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively.

The new positive rating keeps USA Rare Earth stock perfect. Now, eight analysts cover the stock, according to FactSet. All rate it Buy. Rare Earth leader MP Materials is also perfect, with 17 out of 17 analysts covering the stock rating it Buy.

Wall Street's enthusiasm hasn't helped all that much lately. Coming into Wednesday trading, USA Rare Earth and MP stocks were down 41% and 22% over the past three months, respectively.

Rising bond yields haven't helped stocks. There isn't much to blame the companies for. MP reported strong second-quarter numbers, as it transitions from a miner into a value-added magnet producer, helping the U.S. end its reliance on Chinese materials.

The drive to break the Chinese rare earth monopoly has certainly helped the sector. Coming into Wednesday trading, MP stock was up almost 320% over the past two years. Much of that gain came after a summer 2025 blockbuster deal with the Defense Department that essentially provided MP with a price floor for key materials, equity to expand, and guaranteed customers for new production.

That deal has helped the sector, too, signaling that America is serious about building a domestic rare earth business. MP is the largest producer of rare earth materials in the Western Hemisphere. USA Rare Earth is developing a project in West Texas.

Rare Earths Americas is developing projects in Brazil and Georgia. Ramaco Resource has a project in Wyoming. Those two stocks aren't perfect, though. Alexander launched coverage of Rare Earths with a Hold rating on Wednesday. Now five analysts cover the stock. He is the only Hold rating. Ramaco is a coal producer as well as an aspiring rare earth miner. Nine analysts cover that stock. Six, or 67%, rate shares Buy.

(The average Buy rating ratio for S&P 500 stocks typically ranges from 55% to 60%.)

Each rare earth project has different mining characteristics, which means different products, cost, and profit potential. Parsing through the details can be a chore for investors. At least USA Rare Earth and MP have strong analyst support. For investors looking to get into the sector, that's a start.