'All in' on lithium for EVs, Evercore ISI says in upgrades for Albemarle, Livent
Apr. 19, 2021 By: Carl Surran
Albemarle (ALB +3.1%) and Livent (LTHM +5.8%) power higher as Evercore ISI's Stephen Richardson upgrades both stocks to Outperform from In-Line with respective $200 and $20 stock price targets, saying he is going "all in" on the two lithium producers.
"The movement of spot indices above indicative contract prices is a key catalyst for the stocks," Richardson writes, adding that "the driver here remains [electric vehicle] penetration as the stocks have generally followed EV sales trends."
Albemarle is "the 800 lb. gorilla in the lithium market," and has capacity coming on at the right time, with plans for capacity expansion that could add 300K metric tons to its production, or triple its current capabilities, Richardson says, adding that the company "now has a clear line of sight to take advantage of increasing lithium prices and a tightening demand outlook."
Livent shares have shed ~30% from their 52-week high partly because of COVID-19 surges in Argentina, where the company has a salt-brine evaporation operation, but the analyst says resource expansion in the country is "a clear priority... We ultimately assume expansion of Hombre Meurto," the Argentine salt flat where Livent extracts lithium.
Richardson also rates shares of Piedmont Lithium (PLL -1.1%) as a Buy with a $75 price target.
Shares also may be reacting to the earlier news that Orocobre bought Australian lithium mining peer Galaxy Resources in a A$4B deal that will create the world's fifth largest global lithium chemicals company.
News 
Market Data 
Discover 
