Earlier today, analyst Matthew DeYoe of Bank of America weighed in on lithium miners Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) and Livent (NYSE:LTHM). He downgraded the former from Hold to Sell but upgraded the latter from Hold to Buy. Interestingly, he slashed his price target on both stocks, assigning $195 to ALB and $27 to LTHM. For reference, his previous price targets were $262 and $29, respectively. Shares of both companies are down so far in today’s trading.
The price cuts can be attributed to falling lithium prices, which have sent both stocks lower during the past month. However, DeYoe believes that Albermarle is riskier than Livent due to the way each company prices their contracts. Livent fixes its prices and adjusts them each year. Conversely, Albemarle’s contracts are more market based, making it more sensitive to market fluctuations.
Overall, Wall Street analysts have consensus price targets of $304.50 and $26.63 on ALB and LTHM stocks, respectively. This implies upside potential of over 56% and 32%, as indicated by the graphic above.