US Steel Stock Surges After-Hours As Nippon Reportedly Mulls Boosting Investment Offer: Retail Stays Ultra-Bullish

Shares of United States Steel Corp. (X) surged by more than 7.5% in Thursday’s after-market hours as Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp. (NPSCY) reportedly considers boosting its investment to rebuild its American rival’s facilities. 

Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel are in talks with the Trump administration as they seek the government’s approval for the $14.1 billion takeover bid, according to a Semafor report, citing people familiar with the matter.

Nippon has tried to sweeten its takeover bid by significantly increasing its investment pledge to $7 billion from $2.7 billion. This investment will be made in rebuilding U.S. Steel’s aging manufacturing facilities.

This comes at a time when Nippon’s acquisition bid for U.S. Steel is stuck in limbo after the Biden administration blocked it on national security grounds.

On his part, President Donald Trump has publicly voiced his opposition to Nippon’s acquisition offer. In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said, “I am totally against the once great and powerful U.S. Steel being bought by a foreign company, in this case Nippon Steel of Japan.”

However, another report in February stated that Trump might be amiable to the deal, but it was not definite at the time.

While the Nippon Steel deal is in limbo, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (CLF) and Nucor Corp. (NUE) were reportedly interested in a joint bid to acquire U.S. Steel.

Amid this, U.S. Steel’s first-quarter guidance came in below Wall Street expectations. The company expects a loss per share between $0.49 and $0.53, while the consensus estimate was for a loss of $0.33 per share.

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around U.S. Steel remained in the ‘extremely bullish’ (91/100) territory, showing exuberance among investors.

One user quipped it’s “time to ride.”

Another recommends investors use the “buy on dips” strategy to accumulate U.S. Steel shares.

Data from Koyfin shows the average price target for U.S. Steel is $41.44, which is lower than the stock’s closing price on Thursday.

Of the 10 brokerage calls, six either have a ‘Buy’ or a ‘Strong Buy’ recommendation, while four have a ‘Hold’ rating.

US Steel’s stock has gained over 26% year-to-date.

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