SQM price target lowered to $71 from $83 at Loop Capital

Loop Capital lowered the firm’s price target on SQM to $71 from $83 and keeps a Hold rating on the shares. The company remains leveraged to the most-commoditized part of battery materials story – in feeding lithium carbonate into China for low-priced, low-quality LFP batteries, the analyst tells investors in a research note. SQM is also on the wrong side of the ongoing EV market bifurcation, where a commoditized China market may continue to pressure prices on inputs for these EV components, even as western OEMs seem more willing to pay a premium for more dependable, higher-quality inputs that facilitate the production of premium passenger EVs for markets outside of China, the firm added.