Piper Sandler downgraded ALB to “underweight” from “neutral”
The shares of Albemarle Corp (NYSE:ALB) are falling today, down 5.1% at $113.82 at last glance, and nearing their Nov. 13 three-year low of $112.00, following today’s bear notes. Piper Sandler cut both Albemarle and Livent’s (LTHM) rating to “underweight” from “neutral,” saying lithium market conditions could undermine a rebound in pricing, and slashed ALB’s price target to $128 from $140. UBS chimed in with a price-target cut as well, lowering it to $130 from $140.
Albemarle stock’s 40-day moving average has helped guide the shares lower since July, and the electric vehicle (EV) battery name has closed every month lower since then. Currently, the shares sport a roughly 47% year-to-date deficit.
Put traders are targeting ALB after the news. So far today, 6,869 puts have been exchanged, which is triple the amount typically seen at this point and double the amount of calls. The weekly 1/12 90-strike put is the most popular, followed by the weekly 12/29 105-strike put, with new positions opening at both.
Meanwhile, short interest has been on the rise, up 26.9% in just the last two weeks. Now, the 11.48 million shares sold short account for 9.8% of the stock’s available float, or over four days’ worth of pent-up buying power.