The Next Big Surge is Critical Minerals (4 Stocks to Watch Now)

Right now, there's a global scramble happening underneath the market that almost nobody's talking about. A fight for the critical minerals that power everything from AI to national defense. AI can't scale without copper. Fighter jets depend on aluminum and rare earths. Batteries, power grids, semiconductors, and the factories coming back to American soil all depend on securing these raw materials as well. And here's what makes this a truly generational trade. Demand is surging while supply simply can't keep up. New mines can take a decade or more to build out. This explains why governments are pouring billions into securing domestic supply chains. So, I ran the entire space through our market beating Zen rings quant model and found four stocks sitting right at the center of this boom. And yes, I saved the highest rated stock for last. So, keep watching all the way to the end to discover this pick with the most impressive upside potential. Let's get the party moving with the metal that uh kicked off this whole conversation. Yes, we're talking about copper. So, let's explore one of the best ways to have exposure to copper in tech resources with the symbol of TE CK. Now, in case you're wondering, my name is Steve Wrightmeister, but everyone calls me Righty. I'm a partner at Wall Street Zen, where our quant rating system analyzes a wide array of data points to identify stocks with the highest likelihood to outperform the market. If that sounds useful to you, then tap that like button. It tells the algorithm to put more quality stock breakdowns like this in front of you in the future. Let's get back to the bullcase protect resources. They are a Canadian mining giant and copper is most certainly a big part of their future. Now, Goldman Sachs called copper the new oil for a reason and the math behind that has not changed. Every electric vehicle, every data center, every grid upgrade eats piles of the stuff. And yet, supply is not rising as much as demand, which is great news for a minor like tech. Right now, their big growth project is the Highland Valley uh Mine Life Extension in hopes of ramping up their production. On top of that, Tech spun off its coal business to become a cleaner investment grade copper and zinc pure play. Yes, that means on top of the copper, they're also into zinc. They have one of the largest zinc uh operations on the planet. The dynamics have also been very positive with margins surging over the past year. Now, the benefit of all these moves is a string of nine consecutive earnings beats. Indeed, the trend is most certainly our friend with these shares. Now let's pop the hood on tech resources with our Zen range quant model. Now as you might know it analyzes every stock across 115 different fundamental, technical and AI factors. This all gets boiled down to an intuitive letter grade of A to F. And indeed the higher the grade, the higher the expected return for the stock. On top of that you can dig deeper into a stock's specific strengths and weaknesses with seven additional component grades. We're talking about areas like growth, value, momentum, and a whole lot more. All in all, Tech Resources is in the top 11% of all stocks after that full 115 factor review. This leads to a B- rating, which is equivalent to a buy recommendation. Gladly, B-rated stocks have nearly double the returns of the S&P 500 over the past 20 years. The uh component grades highlights the attractiveness the shares starting with the top 21% showing for our AI factor grade. This comes from our usage of AI to find the most timely stocks. Now, sentiment is a nice step up from there in the top 9% of all stocks, which tells you the smart money is already on board these shares. Then we have top 8% for momentum. When you add it all up, this is indeed a very attractive investment profile. Now, the one thing to keep in mind is that Tech Fortunes rides heavily in the future direction of copper and zinc prices. Now, that can be volatile, but if it's true that copper is the new oil and that demand far away supplied, then copper prices should stay aloft a lot longer. And Tech Resources provides one of the most direct ways to play this trend. This makes tech the perfect pick to kick off our video today. Before I get to the next stock, here's something that might interest you. I've put together a list of three stocks I believe could double in the year ahead. Yes, double in the year ahead. And yes, I located all using the same Zen quant featured in this video. You can get those three tickers now for free by visiting wall streetzen.com/double or scan the QR code you find on your screen or click the link in the description below. Please pause the video to make sure you get your copy today. Most investors know the dynamics leading to higher demand for copper, but most people forget the positive setup is also there for aluminum as well. That brings us to the bullcase for Century aluminum, the symbol of CENX. Aluminum belongs on every critical minerals list because it's in EVs, the power grid, defense hardware, packaging, you name it, it's there. Yet, America barely makes any aluminum anymore. Century is a rare US primary producer, which is a pretty good place to be given recent tariffs and reshoring strategies by the US government. This is no doubt explains why they have embarked on the first new primary aluminum smelter on US soil since 1980 going back over 40 years. Plus, it's restarting idle capacity at their Mount Holly facility. And here comes the bonus. [clears throat] Shares saw a massive round of profit taking with shares now trading 50% below their all-time highs. All the while, the underlying business conditions are truly on fire, which explains the recent string of earnings beats. Wall Street sees the good times continuing with earnings estimates point to 35% earnings growth in the year ahead. That's about four times the pace of their industry peers. On top of that growth, we also have a rock solid value story that shows up loud and clear on the rock bottom PE of six and a PEG ratio of 0.19. Wall Street analysts are downright pounding the table on these shares. Not just strong buy recommendations, but even more impressive is the range of fair value targets between 100 to 130% upside potential in the year ahead. The most bullish of the bunch is Lucas Pipes of B Riley. Uh that's important because he ranks in the top 3% of all analysts for his stock picking products, meaning it pays to listen to what he's saying. And what he's saying is, I love this stock. Okay. And yes, our Zen Rings model digs Centry Aluminum 2. That's because they earned that B- rating after the full 115 factor review. This comes from a cluster of fundamental strength showing up in their component grades. This starts with the financial strength landing the top 4% of all stocks. Now, this is the hallmark of a truly well-run company. Growth is even better in the top 3% foreshadowing more growth and more earning speeds ahead. And value also scores in the top 3% not just about the PE impe that we talked about, but based upon 21 different value measures. Okay, the one real risk here is concentration risk. Glen Core owns roughly 30% of Century and then they buy a big slice of what it produces. So any stumble in Glen Core could flow through to Century shares. However, there is a reason that both Wall Street and the Zen rings are lined up behind these shares. Just such a positive setup for a US-based aluminum uh company leading to a tasty combo of growth and value. Now, a quick ass before we move on to our next stock. If you're enjoying this video, then it's time to hit subscribe and the notification bell. That's because I publish datadriven stock analysis like this every single week, and I'd hate for you to miss out on any of the next ones. Okay, our next pick is a little different than these past one. It's not a critical mineral producer. It's the company helping build the infrastructure this entire boom relies upon. That company is Newor with a symbol NUE, the largest steel producer in the United States. Right? Think about what a critical minerals boom actually requires. New mines, processing plants, power grids, data centers, defense facilities, and factories built on American soil. All that takes an enormous amount of steel. And few companies are better positioned than New Core because they are America's largest and most diversified steel maker. Plus, North America's biggest recycler producing the sheet, plate, and beams that go straight into these uh massive projects. So, Newor isn't mining the critical minerals. It's selling one of the essential building blocks needed to turn this boom into a reality. All right, the proof of all this is backed up in the numbers from the last two earnings reports. Now, check out the column on the far right showing the stunning year-over-year earnings growth for New Corp. Now, Wall Street is firmly on board with seven strong buy and one buy recommendation. Now, this group includes several topranked analysts who are concurrently pointing to ample upside potential for these shares. Probably a good time to point out that I'm also a big fan of New Core. That's why it's one of the top 20 stocks in my Zen investor newsletter portfolio. Feel free to Google Zen investor newsletter and Steve Raymeer to learn more about this service. All right, our Zen ratings model agrees in a big way leading to our first A-rated stock in today's video. That comes from them scoring the top 5% of all stocks in the model. The good news in that A- rating is that over the years these stocks have nearly tripled the returns of the S&P 500. The component grades are flexing a lot of strength starting with the top 18% for that AI factor uh which is our timeliness grade. Safety is mighty impressive also in the top 18%. Growth is a notch better than the top 17% of all stocks. Financial strength is top 11% and the standout grade is for momentum in the top 8% of all stocks in our universe. Now like all metals companies the main risk is about the economic cycle and what that means for future demand and profits. But right now, the trend is their friend, especially the current tariff policies that greatly favor us produced steel for which new core is the undisputed leader. Now, as long as those trends are in place, it's easy to see how new core should continue to outpace the market. Next up, we have the highest rated name in the video today. But first up, I want to discuss our live trading sessions that are happening every Monday. That is when I share my updated market outlook and trading plan to outperform. It's also when I unveil my trade of the week based upon the proven ZenRings quant model and my greater than 40 years of investing experience. Now, it's a free event, but you do need to register. Just go to wall streetzen.com/live or click the link in the description below or scan the QR code coming up on your screen. Now, just pause the video for a moment to sign up. I'll be patient and wait for you and I look forward to seeing you there on Monday. And oh yeah, even if you can't join Monday, you should still sign up. That's because we send a replay to all registrants. to watch whenever it's more convenient. Okay, we're going to finish strong today. Please give me a drum roll for our final pick, the top rated name in the video today. That brings us to a gold miner by the name of Sibana Still Water with a symbol of SPSSW. Now, gold isn't officially a critical mineral, but is certainly in high demand from central banks around the globe. On top of that, Sabana produces two other critical metals the world needs a lot more of. We're talking about the production of platinum and palladium which is found in things like catalytic converters and hydrogen technology. Now having strengthened three different key metals gives us more ways to win with the stock. Now the proof of that is in the pudding of their most recent earnings report which is more than three times higher than last year. Now this extra cash helped them slash their debt burden. Because gold has recently lost some of its luster after a long bull rally. Investors have taken a lot of profit off the table. This explains why these shares are now trading about 50% below the all-time highs, which many of their peers are doing about the same. This means we can now buy shares for a redunklessly low four PE of only three. Yeah, I said a PE of three when the average stock trades for a PE closer to 20. Now, Wall Street coverage here is pretty sparse with just one buy and one strong buy recommendation on the books, but each of those folks sees uh value calling for massive gains for these shares in the year ahead. I already gave you the spoiler alert that these were the highest rated shares in the VA today. In this case, we're talking about being in the top 2% of the entire Zen ratings model leading to a coveted A rating. On top of that, it's the number one ranked gold miner out of 47 peers. Once again, we have a slate of strong component grade starting with financials in the top 9%. Growth sits just ahead in the top 8% which foreshadows more earnings beats uh in coming quarters. Then comes the standout grade value in the top 1%. Yes, I mean it is more attractive on value basis than 99% of all other stocks. Here's an important thing to note. Growth, financials, and value are the three most telling grades pointing to future share price outperformance. And they got all three of them. The risk for Sabonia Stillwater is a bit higher than just about swings in metal prices. They carry a bit more debt than most miners, but here again, they're trying to actively pay that down. But they also have a legal dispute working through the courts in the background. These risks seem to already be fully reflected in the rock bottom valuation. Okay, we talked about the upside. We've talked about the risk. Now, let's step back and take a look at the whole picture. This is the highest rated stock on our list today. Cheaper than 99% of the market and yet able to score growth based upon three vital metals in gold, platinum, and palladium. I believe the higher reward greatly outweighs the risk and that's why I saved this one for last and why it may deserve a serious look for your portfolio. So there are your four ways to play the critical minerals boom. Remember that supply is tight, demand keeps climbing, opportunities windows like this have a weight of closing faster than anyone expects. So if any of these stocks caught your eye, it pays uh to do your homework soon and then act upon that advice. All right, thus a good time to remind you the Zen rings are updated every single day on the quote pages of wall streetzen.com. So be sure to bookmark the site now for all your future stock researching needs. Now I want to hear from you. Which of these four stocks your favorite? And is there a minor I left out that belongs in one of my future videos? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. And if you want even more great stocks, then it's time to discover the four hidden gems trading under 20 that I share in the video that's popping your screen right now. Go and enjoy that one.