Molycorp's Squeeze Continues

Shares of rare earth miner Molycorp

continued to trade higher on Tuesday, following an immense rally on Monday that saw shares gain over 20 percent. Molycorp's stock rose as much as nine percent on Tuesday, trading well over $11.60. Only a few weeks ago, in mid November, shares were trading around $6. Then, some insider buying began to push shares higher. The stock was further propelled by news out of China -- regulators were moving to clamp down on rare earth smuggling. With a short float near 30 percent, the rapid upward momentum shouldn't have caught too many traders by surprise. Similar phenomenon has been seen in many other stocks in recent months, most notably Green Mountain

and Research in Motion

. How much higher can Molycorp go? Laurence Balter, an analyst at Oracle Investment Research, has a $50 price target on the stock. But even if Balter's analysis is correct, shares will still be off notably from their 2011 summer high near $75 per share. Since then, shares have gone in only one direction: straight down.