** Shares of lithium miner Albemarle ALB.N rise 2.5% to $176.9 premarket

** Truist Securities upgrades rating to "buy" from "hold"; raises PT to $205 from $125

** New PT is a ~19% upside to stock's last close

** Brokerage expects "relative strength" to continue for companies with exposure to AI and data centers, benefiting ALB

** "We believe that with the outlook for lithium pricing fundamentals improving driven by what we believe appears to be improved industry-wide production discipline and strong demand into key end markets including energy storage systems and EVs" - Brokerage

** Truist adds that a low-growth macro environment may persist in 2026, aside from limited pockets of end-market strength

** 13 of 27 brokerages rate stock "buy" or higher, 13 "hold" and 1 "sell"; median PT is $150.00 - data compiled by LSEG

** In 2025, ALB gained 64.3%

(Reporting by Dharna Bafna in Bengaluru)

((Dharna.bafna@thomsonreuters.com))