Are These The Best Lithium Battery Stocks To Invest In Now?
Lithium stocks appear to be in high demand today as investors in the stock market bet on the booming electric vehicle (EV) industry. This could range anywhere from lithium mining stocks to even lithium-ion battery stocks. But before we go into details, just how important is lithium in our world today?
Well, as mentioned earlier, lithium plays a vital role in fueling the EV battery market now. Given green initiatives globally and the general transition towards environmentally-friendly vehicles, lithium is a hot commodity now. For one thing, a report by the U.S. Geological Survey found that batteries account for about 70% of lithium consumption worldwide. Moreover, professional services company Deloitte recently mentioned that demand for lithium could double or even triple by 2030. Given all this, it would not surprise me to see investors looking for the best lithium stocks to buy now.
If you are among said investors, I wouldn’t blame you. After all, lithium-ion battery maker QuantumScape (NYSE: QS) is looking at gains of over 350% in the past year. Elsewhere, lithium producer Sociedad Quimica (NYSE: SQM) has more than doubled its share price over the same period. With all this activity in the lithium market, here are four lithium battery stocks to consider.
Best Lithium Battery Stocks To Watch Now
- Piedmont Lithium (NASDAQ: PLL)
- Lithium Americas Corp (NYSE: LAC)
- EnerSys (NYSE: ENS)
- Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB)
Piedmont Lithium
Piedmont Lithium is a mining company that is currently in the process of proving the economic mineral recovery of lithium in North Carolina. In detail, it is an emerging lithium company that focuses on becoming a strategic domestic supplier of battery-grade lithium hydroxide and other chemicals to the growing electric vehicle and battery storage markets in the U.S. The company is currently up 12.31% during Thursday’s trading session and is currently trading at $73.81 as of 1:23 p.m. ET and has been up by over 120% year-to-date. Piedmont Lithium today released an update to its Global Mineral Resource estimate (MRE) today for its flagship Piedmont Lithium Project in North Carolina.
In it, the company expects to increase its lithium resources by 40%. In brief, Piedmont explains that its total mineral resource estimate for the project is now 39.2 Mt at 1.09% lithium oxide with 55% of the MRE currently classified in the indicated category. By increasing the scale of its North Carolina mineral resource, this becomes one of the largest lithium resources in North America and is the only one in the U.S. This expanded resource would offer the potential for increased annual lithium production.
Ultimately, this would play well for the company as the world moves towards EV and lithium-ion batteries. Given this piece of news from the company, will you consider buying PLL stock?
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Lithium Americas Corp.
Lithium Americas is a resource company that focuses on the development of two lithium projects. Namely, they are the Cauchari-Olaroz project in Argentina and the Lithium Nevada project in Nevada. Its Lithium Nevada project specifically is a smectite clay-based lithium project. LAC stock currently trades at $15.06 as of 1:23 p.m. ET on Thursday and has been up by over 350% in the last year. Last month, the company provided an update for its project in its fourth quarter and full-year 2020 financials.
For its Cauchari-Olaroz project, construction activities are ongoing with enhanced coronavirus health and safety protocols in place. Lithium Americas also reported that significant progress has been made on its lime plant, solvent extraction plant, and lithium carbonate plant.
With that, the company expects production to begin by mid-2022. It also ended the year with $148 million in cash and has recently sold more shares, with the gross proceeds to the company at approximately $400 million. With fresh funding for the company’s operations, would LAC stock be a top lithium battery stock to consider buying?
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EnerSys
EnerSys is a stored energy systems and technology provider for industrial applications. In detail, the company manufactures and distributes reserve power and motive power batteries. It also is a leader in battery chargers and accessories. Also, the company complements its extensive line of battery storage products with a full range of integrated services and systems. ENS stock currently trades at $93.02 as of 1:24 p.m. ET and has enjoyed gains of over 70% in the last year.
The company reported its third-quarter fiscal financials in February. The company reported that net sales for the quarter were $751 million, up 6% sequentially. A majority of that amount came from its energy systems, at $337.2 million. EnerSys also reported earnings per diluted share of $1.27 for the quarter. The company continues to make excellent progress in its strategic initiatives.
Also, demand for its products remains strong for the quarter. Despite the ongoing vaccination rollout, the company has entered its fourth quarter with capacity constraints. However, it expects to earn top-line earnings per share of $1.31 for the fourth quarter as production output improves. All things considered, will you buy ENS stock?
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Albemarle Corporation
Following that, we have the Albemarle Corporation. In brief, the North Carolina-based company is in the business of chemical manufacturing. Albemarle’s three key divisions include its lithium, bromine specialties, and catalysts arms. According to the company, it is one of, if not, the largest provider of lithium for EV batteries globally. If that wasn’t enough, the company’s products also cater to the electronics and communication markets as well. Given its leading position in the EV lithium business, investors would have ALB stock on their radars now. Evidently, the company’s shares are currently up by over 120% in the past year. With Albemarle’s latest announcement, this trend could continue.
Namely, the company revealed the date for its upcoming first-quarter fiscal earlier today. In detail, Albemarle will be releasing the financial update on May 5 after the closing bell. With overall investor hype around the lithium market, ALB stock could be worth watching over the next month.
Notably, the company has also been making efforts to streamline its portfolio. Back in late February, the company sold its Fine Chemistry Services division for approximately $570 million. Should Albemarle maintain its current position in the lithium industry, would you consider ALB stock a buy now?
