Al Root

Wall Street is piling into the new lithium trade.

Over the weekend, HSBC analyst Ishan Jain upgraded Albemarle stock to Buy from Hold, according to FactSet. His price target went to $200 from $117. He expects higher lithium prices to boost sales and earnings.

Benchmark lithium prices peaked at about $84,000 per metric ton in late 2022, boosted by rising demand from electric vehicles. But lithium production expanded, and EV demand growth slowed, which pushed lithium prices below $9,000 per ton. Now, rising demand for utility-scale battery storage has pushed lithium prices higher to about $18,000 a ton recently.

Jain isn't the first to realize the tide has turned in the lithium market. Albemarle shares have received four new Buy ratings in the past few weeks, according to FactSet.

Now, 46% of analysts covering Albermarle stock rate shares Buy, up from 33% in November. The average Buy-rating ratio for stocks in the S&P 500 is about 55%.

The average analyst price target for Albemarle stock is about $156, up from about $104 in November.

That is the effect higher pricing can have on Wall Street sentiment. Currently, analysts project Albemarle's 2026 earnings per share will land at $3, up from less than $1 in November. Albemarle is expected to lose money in 2025. It reported EPS of about $22 in 2022, when lithium prices were much higher.

Despite the upgrade, Albemarle shares were down 0.4% in premarket trading at $162.37.

The entire market was struggling, though. Stocks tumbled on Tuesday as investors worried about President Donald Trump's plan to impose tariffs on some NATO members unless they allow the U.S. to acquire Greenland. Futures on the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 1.5% and 1.3%, respectively. The U.S. dollar index was down 0.9%, while gold rose 3% to more than $4,700 an ounce.

Coming into Tuesday trading, Albemarle stock was up almost 70% over the past three months. That is another reason for the muted reaction to an upgrade to Buy. The stock is already up a lot.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com

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January 20, 2026 08:58 ET (13:58 GMT)

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