The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price is $57.50, down 0.4% on Friday after a historically significant week for the miner.
The ASX 200's largest mining share ascended above its previous all-time record of $54.55, set in mid-2021, on Monday.
From there, the share price kept climbing and has risen by almost 7% in the space of just five days, and on no news at all from the miner.
The BHP share price peaked this week at $58.29 during intraday trading on Thursday.
That is now the highest price the miner has ever traded at in its 140-year history as a listed company.
In the year to date, BHP shares have risen by just over 25%.
That's 5x the rate of the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), which is up 5%.
In short, BHP shares are on fire — and there's another 20% growth to come, according to one analyst.
On Wednesday, Jason Fairclough of Bank of America put a 12-month price target of $68 on BHP shares.
What's most exciting about this analyst's tip is that the guy has form.
Last month, Fairclough was the first expert to suggest that BHP shares could go into the late $50s in 2026.
Look how that worked out.
Image source: Getty Images
BHP share price soars 25% in 2026
Here at The Fool, we've been closely tracking the BHP share price since the start of the new year ('cos we're nerdy like that).
Fairclough put out a note in mid-January tipping that BHP shares could rise to $56 within a year. His previous target had been $49.
At the time, five other analysts had also recently updated their price targets.
All of them, except Barclays, were tipping the late $40s range for the BHP share price. Barclays' price target was $50.12.
Over ensuing weeks, Goldman Sachs raised its price target on BHP shares to $57.70, while Morgan Stanley increased it to $56.50.
And Fairclough went to $57.
BHP shares cracked the $50 mark for the first time in two years on 27 January.
Then the mining share hovered between $49 and $52 for a couple of weeks.
Then came BHP's 1H FY26 report and a $4.3 billion silver streaming deal, both announced on 17 February, which added serious fuel to the mining stock's fire.
1H FY26 result turbocharges share price
The ASX 200 iron ore and copper mining giant reported a 28% profit increase to US$5.64 billion for 1H FY26.
The news forced the brokers to go back to their models to update their price targets. Fairclough lifted his target to $60.
On Monday, the BHP share price surpassed its mid-2021 record to reach a new high of $54.75.
On Wednesday, we received news that Fairclough had reiterated his buy rating and lifted his 12-month target on BHP shares to $68.
Citi also updated its price target on Wednesday, lifting it from $49.60 to $53.41 while keeping a hold rating.
On Tuesday, Barclays lifted its target to $52.84 and maintained its hold rating.
According to TradingView, there are 16 analysts with 12-month targets on BHP shares, ranging from $35.43 to $67.89.
Since the day of the 1H FY26 report, the BHP share price has risen 14%.
Stay tuned for what happens next!
