Jefferies raises Albemarle PT citing lithium demand surge

Albemarle

05/01/2026 11:03

** Jefferies raises price target on lithium miner Albemarle ALB.N to $167 from $152

** Shares of ALB rise 2.1% to $147.05 premarket

** New PT represents a 16% upside to the stock's last close

** Widespread robotics will require a lot more battery-powered machines into daily use, and this "mobile physical AI" theme has broad ramifications for chemical demand, particularly for lithium, says brokerage

** Jefferies estimates each 1 billion drones to increase lithium demand ~55% from current levels

** "The combination of falling solar costs, cheap renewable energy and cheap AI argues for a faster shift to a robotaxi world, which in our view strongly favors EVs," brokerage adds

** Nine of 27 brokerages rate stock "buy" or higher, 17 "hold" and 1 "sell"; median PT is $125 - data compiled by LSEG

** In 2025, stock was up 64.3%

(Reporting by Dharna Bafna in Bengaluru)

((Dharna.bafna@thomsonreuters.com))