Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX) is riding high on Tuesday, quite literally hitting a new 52-week peak as copper prices continue their remarkable ascent and Wall Street analysts pile on with upgraded price targets.

The Wells Fargo Boost

Wells Fargo analyst Timna Tanners just raised her price target on Freeport to $55 from $47, keeping an Overweight rating on the mining giant. It's the latest in a string of bullish calls as copper's historic rally shows no signs of slowing down.

Copper topped $11,700 per metric ton on the London Metal Exchange back in December and has kept climbing into 2025. The metal's momentum stems from a perfect storm: supply disruptions, concerns about President Donald Trump potentially slapping tariffs on refined copper products, and aggressive U.S. stockpiling that's tightening inventories worldwide.

Why Copper Matters More Than Ever

Here's where things get interesting. Copper isn't just another industrial metal anymore—it's become essential infrastructure for the future economy. BloombergNEF projects global copper demand will jump more than one-third by 2035, propelled by the renewable energy transition, electric vehicle adoption, and the explosive growth of AI-focused data centers.

The numbers tell the story: AI data centers are copper-heavy beasts, consuming up to four times more of the metal than traditional facilities. Electric vehicles also demand more than triple the copper used in gas-powered cars. That's a lot of red metal.

Supply Can't Keep Up

Meanwhile, supply is struggling. The market is expected to slip into deficit as early as 2026, and several major mines have already hit roadblocks this year. Freeport's Grasberg mine in Indonesia suffered a deadly mudslide, adding more strain to already tight global supply.

Analyst Love Continues

Wells Fargo isn't alone in its enthusiasm. UBS maintained its buy rating and lifted its target to $60 on December 12. JP Morgan kept an overweight rating while raising its target from $50 to $58 on December 5. Scotiabank upgraded the company to sector outperform from sector perform on November 19, though it lowered its target to $47 from $51. Morgan Stanley maintained its overweight rating the same day but trimmed its target slightly to $44 from $46.

Freeport-McMoRan shares were up 2.78% at $52.06 at the time of publication Tuesday, trading at a new 52-week high.