Written by Matthew Paulson
December 21, 2024
Electric vehicles currently make up about 5% of new car sales in the United States. While they have received a lot of attention in the last several years, there is still a long way to go before American roads are dominated by electric vehicles. Tesla has gotten an early lead over established automakers with their Model S, Model 3, and Cybertruck, but the market is still anyone’s game. Ford has had an impressive showing with its F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E. Rivian has produced some head-turning trucks. General Motors is finally starting to gain some ground. Yet, it’s just too early to tell which automakers will dominate roadways 20 years from now.
Fortunately, there is a way to bet on the electric vehicle mega-trend without having to pick winners. There is a major component that makes up a substantial portion of the weight of every E.V. on the road—lithium-ion batteries. A typical Tesla Model S contains than 1,200 pounds of lithium-ion batteries. The F-150 lightning has 1,800 pounds of batteries. Given that electric vehicles require a substantial amount of lithium to operate, betting on companies involved in the mining and processing of lithium seems like an obvious play.
There are currently more than 200 public companies vying to dominate the lithium trade. Many of these companies are smaller producers or international firms that trade on the over-the-counter exchange, or on international exchanges such as the Australian Stock Exchange or the TSX Venture Exchange in Canada. This can make it difficult to wade through them and find the lithium companies that have the best chance to see rapid growth and future success.
Thankfully, Wall Street's brightest minds have already done the work for us. Every year, analysts issue approximately 8,000 distinct recommendations for energy production companies. Analysts don't always get their "buy" ratings right, but it's worth taking a hard look when several analysts from different brokerages and research firms are giving "strong buy" and "buy" ratings to the same lithium stock.
We've created a report that details the 10 lithium companies that Wall Street's top-rated equities research analysts are telling their clients to buy. If you’re looking to make a bit in the lithium industry anytime in the next few months, chances are the company that you should buy is on the list.
#1 - Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO)
- Consensus Rating
- Moderate Buy
- Rating Score
- 2.6
- Ratings Breakdown
- 4 Buy Ratings, 4 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- N/A
About Rio Tinto Group
Rio Tinto Group engages in exploring, mining, and processing mineral resources worldwide. The company operates through Iron Ore, Aluminium, Copper, and Minerals Segments. The Iron Ore segment engages in the iron ore mining, and salt and gypsum production in Western Australia. The Aluminum segment is involved in bauxite mining; alumina refining; and aluminium smelting.
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Recent Analyst Ratings
- Consensus Rating
- Moderate Buy
- Rating Score
- 2.9
- Ratings Breakdown
- 9 Buy Ratings, 2 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $20.50 (110.7% Upside)
About Enovix
Enovix Corporation designs, develops, and manufactures lithium-ion batteries. It serves wearables and IoT, smartphone, laptops and tablets, industrial and medical, and electric vehicles industries. The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Fremont, California.
Recent Analyst Ratings
- Consensus Rating
- Hold
- Rating Score
- 2.0
- Ratings Breakdown
- 1 Buy Ratings, 2 Hold Ratings, 1 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $105.00 (13.6% Upside)
About Cabot
Cabot Corporation operates as a specialty chemicals and performance materials company. The company operates through two segments, Reinforcement Materials and Performance Chemicals. It offers reinforcing carbons that are used in tires as a rubber reinforcing agent and performance additive, as well as in industrial products, such as hoses, belts, extruded profiles, and molded goods; and engineered elastomer composites solutions.
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Recent Analyst Ratings
#4 - Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM)
- Consensus Rating
- Moderate Buy
- Rating Score
- 2.6
- Ratings Breakdown
- 11 Buy Ratings, 8 Hold Ratings, 1 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $128.74 (21.6% Upside)
About Exxon Mobil
Exxon Mobil Corporation engages in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas in the United States and internationally. It operates through Upstream, Energy Products, Chemical Products, and Specialty Products segments. The Upstream segment explores for and produces crude oil and natural gas.
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Recent Analyst Ratings
#5 - Albemarle (NYSE:ALB)
- Consensus Rating
- Hold
- Rating Score
- 2.2
- Ratings Breakdown
- 6 Buy Ratings, 15 Hold Ratings, 1 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $115.74 (30.6% Upside)
About Albemarle
Albemarle Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets engineered specialty chemicals worldwide. It operates through three segments: Energy Storage, Specialties and Ketjen. The Energy Storage segment offers lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, and lithium chloride; technical services for the handling and use of reactive lithium products; and lithium-containing by-products recycling services.
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Recent Analyst Ratings
#6 - Energizer (NYSE:ENR)
- Consensus Rating
- Hold
- Rating Score
- 2.3
- Ratings Breakdown
- 2 Buy Ratings, 6 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $37.63 (6.5% Upside)
About Energizer
Energizer Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and distributes household batteries, specialty batteries, and lighting products worldwide. It offers lithium, alkaline, carbon zinc, nickel metal hydride, zinc air, and silver oxide batteries under the Energizer, Eveready, and Rayovac brands; primary, rechargeable, specialty, and hearing aid batteries; and handheld, headlights, lanterns, and area lights, as well as flashlights under the Hard Case, Dolphin, and WeatherReady brands.
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Recent Analyst Ratings
#7 - Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM)
- Consensus Rating
- Hold
- Rating Score
- 2.4
- Ratings Breakdown
- 4 Buy Ratings, 3 Hold Ratings, 1 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $45.56 (22.2% Upside)
About Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile
Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA operates as a mining company worldwide. The company offers specialty plant nutrients, including sodium potassium nitrate, specialty blends, and other specialty fertilizers under Ultrasol, Qrop, Speedfol, Allganic, Ultrasoline, ProP, and Prohydric brands. It also provides iodine and its derivatives for use in medical, agricultural, industrial, and human and animal nutrition products comprising x-ray contrast media, biocides, antiseptics and disinfectants, pharmaceutical intermediates, polarizing films for LCD and LED screens, chemicals, organic compounds, and pigments, as well as added to edible salt to prevent iodine deficiency disorders.
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Recent Analyst Ratings
#8 - Arcadium Lithium (NYSE:ALTM)
- Consensus Rating
- Hold
- Rating Score
- 2.0
- Ratings Breakdown
- 0 Buy Ratings, 10 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $11.00 (126.8% Upside)
About Arcadium Lithium
Arcadium Lithium plc engages in the production of lithium chemicals products in the Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. It offers battery-grade lithium hydroxide, lithium carbonate, butyllithium and high purity lithium metal for electric vehicles, electronics, agricultural, industrial, greases, polymers, pharmaceutical, battery, and aerospace applications.
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Recent Analyst Ratings
#9 - QuantumScape (NYSE:QS)
- Consensus Rating
- Reduce
- Rating Score
- 1.9
- Ratings Breakdown
- 0 Buy Ratings, 6 Hold Ratings, 1 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $6.26 (24.7% Upside)
About QuantumScape
QuantumScape Corporation, a research and development stage company, focuses on the development and commercialization of solid-state lithium-metal batteries for electric vehicles and other applications. The company was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.
Recent Analyst Ratings
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