Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG) has been in the news for all the wrong reasons recently, with a class action launched against the company and a $150 million judgment against it for cultural damage at sites in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.

Fortescue’s mining operations ticking along

On the operational front, however, the company is delivering solid results and is also looking to invest US$680 million in new green energy infrastructure to support its mining operations, as well as potentially data centres.

Macquarie has recently run the ruler over the company and has reaffirmed its outperform rating on the company’s shares with a positive share price target, which we’ll get to shortly.

Firstly, let’s have a closer look at the company’s most recent production report.

The company in April said it had shipped 48.4 million tonnes of iron ore in the third quarter, bringing the total amount shipped over nine months to 148.7 million tonnes, up 4% over the same period the previous year.

Fortescue Metals and Operations Chief Executive Officer Dino Otranto said at the time:

We delivered a solid quarter, contributing to record shipments of 148.7 million tonnes for the nine months to March. That reflects a significant effort from the team right across the business. At the same time, we’re getting on with decarbonising our operations and we’re already seeing the benefits. Given volatility in global energy markets, there’s never been a clearer reason why this matters. For us, it’s about strengthening energy security, lowering costs and eliminating emissions. The build-out of our green grid is well underway, with 630MW of solar and 133MW of wind generation under construction. As we bring this online, we’re fundamentally reshaping how we power our operations by cutting our reliance on fossil fuels, at a time when energy supply is increasingly uncertain.    

Meanwhile, the class action brought against the company relates to allegations including sexual harassment and sex discrimination.

Fortescue shares still looking like good value

Macquarie said it was expecting Fortescue to ship 53 million tonnes in the fourth quarter, and is also expecting the company to release an optimisation study in the next few months.

Macquarie said:

We expect an in line result at the quarterly, with FY27 guidance the key item of focus; we could see the first signs of the Hematite over magnetite strategy come through in volume guidance, with the outcomes of the portfolio optimisation study potentially occurring later in the year.

Macquarie has a 12-month price target of $21 on Fortescue shares, compared to $18.47 currently.

Including the company’s 6.5% dividend yield, this would equate to a total shareholder return of 17%.

Morgan Stanley has a dissenting view on Fortescue shares, with a sell rating and a price target of $17.25 on the company.

The post How high does Macquarie think Fortescue shares will go? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Cameron England has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

It has been a rough few months for Dateline Resources Ltd (ASX: DTR) shareholders.

But the ASX mining stock is surging on Monday after receiving some welcome support from the US Government.

At the time of writing, the Dateline Resources share price is up 33.33% to 18 cents.

Despite today’s huge gain, the stock remains down around 20% in 2026. However, Dateline shares are now up roughly 98% since this time last year.

Let’s take a closer look at the latest announcement.

US Government backs Dateline’s position

The support comes from the US Department of Justice (DOJ), which has filed documents opposing a legal challenge surrounding Colosseum.

The Colosseum project is Dateline’s 100%-owned gold and rare earths project in California, which includes a historic open-pit mine.

The case was brought by the National Parks Conservation Association, which is challenging an April 2025 letter recognising Dateline’s existing rights at the project.

According to Dateline, the DOJ believes the current mine plan remains valid and still allows work to take place at Colosseum.

The DOJ also argues the National Park Service letter didn’t grant a new approval. Instead, it says the letter just confirmed the legal position of the existing mine plan.

Dateline said the filing supports the position it has taken throughout the case.

What is the legal dispute about?

The National Parks Conservation Association wants the court to overturn the National Park Service’s April 2025 decision without recognising the company’s mining rights.

However, the DOJ believes the group is unlikely to succeed because the letter did not amount to a final government decision that could be challenged in court.

The department also says laws introduced in 1994 protected the project’s existing rights, including its approved mine plan. A long break in mining doesn’t automatically cancel those rights.

The US Government has also pushed back against claims of immediate environmental damage.

It noted the area has already been disturbed by previous mining, while access to the nearby Clark Mountains remains available by another route.

The DOJ also said concerns about future noise, dust and vegetation removal relate to work that may not even happen.

Foolish takeaway

The DOJ filing is welcome news for Dateline and gives the company more support in the legal dispute over Colosseum.

It backs Dateline’s view that the existing mine plan remains valid and no new federal approval is required. However, the court still has the final say.

Colosseum is a major part of the company’s future. Its bankable feasibility study (BFS) outlined a 10.4-year mine and estimated a pre-tax value of US$785 million.

The study also produced an internal rate of return (IRR) of 49.5%, which is a measure of the project’s expected profitability.

Building the mine is expected to cost US$249 million, plus a US$25 million contingency.

The post Why this ASX mining stock is rocketing 33% after a US Government boost appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Shares in Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp (NASDAQ: SPCX), more commonly known as SpaceX, again fell below the company’s $150 opening price over the weekend as opinions diverge on where the stock will end up.

SpaceX shares still in the black

The historically large SpaceX initial public offering priced the company’s shares at US$135 apiece, so those who got in before the company listed are still sitting on gains and would have made a tidy profit if they sold out at the US$225.64 high achieved shortly after listing.

The shares have generally drifted lower since that peak was reached, however, and closed Friday’s session at US$145.30, not far off their lowest mark of US$145.07.

This means that almost everyone who bought on-market would be under water on their investment currently.

The stock was included in the NASDAQ 100 index on Tuesday last week, however this failed to significantly bolster the stock.  

So where to from here for SpaceX shares? The Tradingview website has collated the views of 29 analysts with price predictions on SpaceX shares, with the average share price forecast coming out at US$242.21.

However this is distorted by one analyst prediction of a price of US$800 per share on SpaceX shares.

Perhaps more useful is the fact that 24 analysts have rated the stock a strong buy, three a buy, while one rates it a sell and one a strong sell.

Motley Fool US contributor Manali Pradhan has crunched the numbers on SpaceX’s 2027 revenue range and forward sales multiple to come up with an implied market capitalisation, and says US$220 per share is a reasonable base case estimate.

As she wrote:

Analysts expect SpaceX’s 2027 revenue to range from $54.8 billion to $85 billion, with an average estimate of $72.4 billion. Applying a forward sales multiple of 38.5 to 41 times to the 2027 base case revenue estimate yields an implied market capitalization of about $2.79 trillion to $2.97 trillion. Using roughly 13.1 billion shares outstanding, that points to a share price in the range of $213 to $227 at the end of 2026.

Long-term vision on SpaceX shares needed

The difficulty in valuing SpaceX stems from the fact that of its three divisions, only one – the Starlink “connectivity” division is profitable.

The rocket launch and AI divisions are still burning money, with investors needing to buy into the promise that they will in time turn a profit.

The company’s initial public offer prospectus stated that for the first three months of 2026, the Space division lost US$662 million, the AI division lost US$2.47 billion, and the connectivity division made a profit of US$1.19 billion.  

The company believes its business opportunity is huge however, saying in the prospectus, “We believe that space represents the largest economic frontier in human history”, and suggesting that they will be building AI infrastructure in space, powered by the “virtually limitless” power of the sun, for the benefit of mankind.

The post SpaceX shares continue to fall. Where will they end up? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Cameron England has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.