The Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC) share price has rallied from six-month lows of $7.54 on 12 July to now trade at $8.75 per share.
Despite the near-term upside, the price of key rare earths metals has taken a backward step in 2022.
For example, after soaring to record highs of A$320,264 per tonne in February this year, neodymium has given back all of this year's gains.
It now trades 28% down at $230,123 per tonne, amid a cooling off in industrial metals markets.
What does this mean for the Lynas share price?
Up until around two weeks ago, the downward pressure in spot neodymium appeared to be weighing in negatively on the Lynas share price.
The ASX rare earths miner had drifted to six-month lows, with the price of neodymium consolidating a relief rally in late June.
Lynas then released its Q4 FY22 earnings report on 12 July and that's when the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) share found a bottom and began to curl back upward.
In the report, Lynas showed it grew cash receipts by 34% year on year to a record $351 million, underpinned by strong demand for rare earths.
It also printed sales revenue of $294.5 million, the second-highest quarterly result ever recorded by the company.
Broker estimates haven't swayed on the share either, with 66% of analysts covering the company saying it's a buy right now, per Refinitiv Eikon data.
The consensus price target from this list is $10.26 per share, around 18% return potential should the brokers have it right.
The Lynas share price is currently up 3% today, taking its gains for the past 12 months to around 25%. However, it is down 14% so far in 2022, and 5% over the past month.
