Written by Matthew Paulson
December 2, 2023
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, 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.
- Consensus Rating
- Moderate Buy
- Rating Score
- 2.8
- Ratings Breakdown
- 3 Buy Ratings, 1 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $83.60 (7.5% 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
- Consensus Rating
- Moderate Buy
- Rating Score
- 2.9
- Ratings Breakdown
- 7 Buy Ratings, 1 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $27.11 (118.8% Upside)
About Enovix
Enovix Corporation designs, develops, and manufactures lithium-ion batteries. The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Fremont, California.
Recent Analyst Ratings
#3 - Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO)
- Consensus Rating
- Moderate Buy
- Rating Score
- 2.9
- Ratings Breakdown
- 10 Buy Ratings, 2 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $72.00 (1.2% Upside)
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. It offers aluminum, copper, iron ore, diamonds, gold, borates, titanium dioxide, salt, silver, molybdenum, and lithium. The company also owns and operates open pit and underground mines, refineries, smelters, and concentrator facilities, as well as power stations, research, and service facilities.
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Recent Analyst Ratings
#4 - Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC)
- Consensus Rating
- Moderate Buy
- Rating Score
- 2.8
- Ratings Breakdown
- 9 Buy Ratings, 2 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $23.61 (262.1% Upside)
About Lithium Americas
Lithium Americas Corp. engages in the exploration and development of lithium properties in the United States and Canada. It holds a 100% interest in the Thacker Pass project located in northern Nevada, as well as investments in exploration properties in the United States and Canada. The company was incorporated in 2023 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.
Recent Analyst Ratings
- Consensus Rating
- Hold
- Rating Score
- 2.0
- Ratings Breakdown
- 1 Buy Ratings, 3 Hold Ratings, 1 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- N/A
About Allkem
Allkem Limited engages in the production and sale of lithium and boron in Argentina. Its flagship project is the Olaroz Lithium Facility located in Jujuy province in northern Argentina. Allkem Limited was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Brisbane, Australia.
Recent Analyst Ratings
#6 - Lithium Americas (TSE:LAC)
- Consensus Rating
- Moderate Buy
- Rating Score
- 2.5
- Ratings Breakdown
- 3 Buy Ratings, 0 Hold Ratings, 1 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- C$27.83 (216.3% Upside)
About Lithium Americas
Lithium Americas Corp. engages in the exploration and development of lithium properties in the United States and Canada. It holds a 100% interest in the Thacker Pass project located in northern Nevada, as well as investments in exploration properties in the United States and Canada. The company was incorporated in 2023 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.
Recent Analyst Ratings
- Consensus Rating
- Buy
- Rating Score
- 3.0
- Ratings Breakdown
- 2 Buy Ratings, 0 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $35.33 (13.5% Upside)
About Sigma Lithium
Sigma Lithium Corporation engages in the exploration and development of lithium deposits in Brazil. It holds a 100% interest in the Grota do Cirilo, Genipapo, Santa Clara, and São José properties comprising 29 mineral rights covering an area of approximately 185 square kilometers located in the Araçuaí and Itinga regions of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil.
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Recent Analyst Ratings
#8 - SolarEdge Technologies (NASDAQ:SEDG)
- Consensus Rating
- Hold
- Rating Score
- 2.3
- Ratings Breakdown
- 8 Buy Ratings, 19 Hold Ratings, 1 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $167.48 (103.1% Upside)
About SolarEdge Technologies
SolarEdge Technologies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, and sells direct current (DC) optimized inverter systems for solar photovoltaic (PV) installations worldwide. It operates in Solar and All Other segments. The company offers inverters, power optimizers, communication devices, and smart energy management solutions used in residential, commercial, and small utility-scale solar installations; and a cloud-based monitoring platform that collects and processes information from the power optimizers and inverters, as well as monitors and manages the solar PV system.
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Recent Analyst Ratings
#9 - Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM)
- Consensus Rating
- Hold
- Rating Score
- 2.4
- Ratings Breakdown
- 5 Buy Ratings, 1 Hold Ratings, 2 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $76.61 (41.9% Upside)
About Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile
Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA produces and distributes specialty plant nutrients, iodine derivatives, lithium derivatives, potassium chloride and sulfate, industrial chemicals, and other products and services. The company offers specialty plant nutrients, including potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate, sodium potassium nitrate, specialty blends, and other specialty fertilizers.
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Recent Analyst Ratings
#10 - Albemarle (NYSE:ALB)
- Consensus Rating
- Hold
- Rating Score
- 2.5
- Ratings Breakdown
- 11 Buy Ratings, 6 Hold Ratings, 2 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $232.37 (84.2% Upside)
About Albemarle
Albemarle Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets engineered specialty chemicals worldwide. It operates through three segments: Lithium, Bromine, and Catalysts. The Lithium segment offers lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, lithium chloride, and lithium specialties and reagents, such as butyllithium and lithium aluminum hydride for use in lithium batteries for consumer electronics and electric vehicles, high performance greases, thermoplastic elastomers for car tires, rubber soles, plastic bottles, catalysts for chemical reactions, organic synthesis processes in the areas of steroid chemistry and vitamins, life sciences, pharmaceutical industry, and other markets.
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Recent Analyst Ratings
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