Digging Deeper Into MP
The story nobody is talking about (but should be). Also updates on ERIE, NTGR and a peek at the Red Flag Alerts Focus List.
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On Today’s Agenda
MP Materials – Follow-up with the story everybody is missing.
Erie Indemnity – Not indemnified from reality.
Netscape – Closer to the catalyst.
Red Flags Focus List, with mention of a few possibly new ideas.
Head’s up: I’ll be out next week
on special assignment investigating price gouging and the sustainability of Park margins attaking my grandkids to Disneyland. As always, I’m never 100% off the grid, but it is highly unlikely I will publish.
1. MP Materials
The more work I do on MP Materials, the more of what I perceive to be the real story has come into focus…
My original report last week gave a good overview, hitting the key points in a story that can easily become overwhelming unless you’re steeped in the world of Cerium, Lanthanum, Neodymium, Praseodymium, Dysprosium and Terbium.
The mere mention of “rare earths” on their own as it relates to MP is misleading – at least if you want to fully understand the risks – because all rare earths are not created equal.
The rare earths that can make or break the company’s growth story tell quite a story. And after doing even more work, I wonder: Why is nobody talking about this?
The answer is because unless you’re steeped in the world of geological physics, it takes time to understand… and even then it’s hard to pick up the kind of nuances where the facts truly can get in the way of a good story.
That said, I’ve come away with a few general thoughts:
If there is an overriding theme here, it’s that if there is any industry that proves the fallacy of protectionism and the genuine need for geopolitical cooperation, it’s rare earths.