NioCorp Developments (NB) Plunges 17% Amid Funding Hurdles and Market Volatility: What’s Driving the Selloff?

Summary
• NioCorp’s stock tumbles 17% to $9.69, erasing $200M in market cap in a single session.
• Recent $60M public offering and Pentagon-funded drilling campaigns dominate headlines.
• Options volatility surges, with 193% implied volatility on November 21 call options.

Today’s sharp decline in NioCorp Developments (NB) has sent shockwaves through the critical minerals sector. The stock’s 17% drop—its worst intraday performance since 2023—coincides with a $60M equity raise and a Pentagon-backed drilling initiative. With a 52-week high of $12.58 now in jeopardy, investors are scrambling to parse the implications of recent capital-raising moves and geopolitical developments.

Capital-Raising Dilution and Market Sentiment Trigger Sell-Off
The 17% plunge in NB’s stock price is directly tied to the company’s aggressive capital-raising efforts, including a $60M public offering and a $50M registered direct offering in late September. These moves, while necessary to fund the Elk Creek Critical Minerals Project, have triggered investor concerns over share dilution. Compounding this, the Pentagon’s $10M award for scandium supply chain development, though positive, has yet to translate into tangible revenue. The market’s reaction reflects a mix of short-term skepticism about execution risks and long-term uncertainty about the project’s profitability timeline.

Industrial Metals Sector Volatile as MP Materials (MP) Also Slides
The industrial metals sector has seen mixed performance, with MP Materials (MP) down 8.23% on the same day. While NB’s selloff is tied to specific capital-raising concerns, the broader sector faces headwinds from slowing demand for rare earths and geopolitical uncertainties. However, NB’s critical minerals focus—niobium, scandium, and titanium—positions it differently from traditional base metals players like MP, which focuses on rare earth processing.

Options Playbook: High-Leverage Calls and Volatility-Driven Bets
• 200-day average: $3.21 (well below current price)
• RSI: 85.06 (overbought territory)
• MACD: 1.53 (bullish divergence)
• Bollinger Bands: Price at $9.69, near lower band ($3.89–$11.51)

Technical indicators suggest a short-term rebound is likely, though long-term fundamentals remain fragile. Key support levels at $7.70 (20-day MA) and $4.28 (100-day MA) could dictate near-term direction. The NB20251121C10 call option (strike $10, expiration Nov 21) and NB20260220C10 (Feb 20, 2026) stand out for their high leverage ratios (4.23% and 2.67%) and moderate deltas (0.608 and 0.685).

NB20251121C10:
• IV: 193.48% (extreme volatility)
• Delta: 0.608 (moderate directional sensitivity)
• Theta: -0.0345 (rapid time decay)
• Gamma: 0.0632 (high sensitivity to price swings)
• Turnover: $469,755 (liquid)
• Payoff at 5% downside: $0.31 (max(0, $9.21 - $10) = $0)
• Why it works: High gamma and IV make this ideal for a short-term rebound trade, though theta decay requires swift execution.

NB20260220C10:
• IV: 166.43% (sustainable volatility)
• Delta: 0.685 (strong directional bias)
• Theta: -0.0142 (slower decay)
• Gamma: 0.0369 (moderate sensitivity)
• Turnover: $945,691 (high liquidity)
• Payoff at 5% downside: $0.31 (max(0, $9.21 - $10) = $0)
• Why it works: Longer-dated option with lower theta decay, suitable for a bullish swing trade if NB stabilizes above $7.70.

Action: Aggressive bulls may consider NB20251121C10 into a bounce above $10.00, while cautious investors should monitor the $7.70 support level.

Backtest NioCorp Developments Stock Performance
I couldn’t retrieve any valid market data for the symbol “NB.O.” Before running the event-backtest, could you please confirm the correct ticker and the exchange on which NioCorp Developments trades in your data source? • If the stock trades under a different symbol (e.g., “NB” on NYSE-American, “NB.TO,” or an OTC code), let me know so I can resubmit the data request. • Also, to make sure we capture the right events: do you want to define the “-17 % intraday plunge” as – a drop of 17 % or more from the day’s high to its low, or – a close-to-close loss of 17 % or more? Once I have the correct ticker and event definition, I’ll fetch the data, identify the qualifying plunge dates, and run the back-test from 2022-01-01 through today.

Critical Minerals Sector at Inflection Point: Buy the Dip or Wait for Clarity?
NioCorp’s 17% selloff reflects market skepticism about its capital-intensive growth strategy, but the company’s strategic land acquisitions and Pentagon-backed projects remain catalysts. The stock’s technical setup suggests a potential rebound from $7.70, though execution risks persist. Investors should watch MP Materials (MP, -8.23%) for sector sentiment and NB’s ability to stabilize above key moving averages. For now, NB20251121C10 offers a high-leverage, high-volatility play on a short-term rebound, but only if $10.00 is retested cleanly.