Albemarle plunges to lowest in nearly four years as lithium prices keep sliding (NYSE:ALB)

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) finished Tuesday’s trading as the biggest loser on the S&P 500, -8.7% to its lowest since October 2020, as two Wall Street analysts cut their price targets for the stock.

Lowering his PT to $127 from $170 even while maintaining an Overweight rating, Baird analyst Ben Kallo said lithium prices have remained at or below the low end of Albemarle’s (ALB) guidance, which sets up “a weak Q2” report for the company.

Kallo also noted concerns about the effect this year’s U.S. elections could have on the electric vehicle market, which directly affects lithium battery demand.

The analyst sees automakers potentially holding back production or committing to more stringent transition targets afterwards as they await clarity on any potential changes in government EV tax credits.

Additionally, UBS analyst Joshua Spector, who rates Albemarle (ALB) at Hold, trimmed his price target to $109 from $124.

Other lithium producers also fell on Tuesday, including Standard Lithium (SLI) -7.6%, Sigma Lithium (SGML) -6%, Lithium Americas (LAC) -4.1%, Arcadium Lithium (ALTM) -3.5%, SQM (SQM) -3%.

Albemarle (ALB) shares are down more than 70% from their record highs in late 2022, when lithium was trading for ~$85K/metric ton, but prices today have tumbled to ~$12.5K/ton.

Research firm TrendForce said in a report that lithium prices suffered a “significant drop” last month to YTD lows, and forecast lithium demand will remain low in July, with prices falling to the “sensitive range” of 80K-90K yuan/ton ($11K-$12,375).

ETF: (LIT)