Lithium maker Albemarle shares surge 4.4% after Goldman upgrades to buy

Shares of lithium manufacturer Albemarle Corp. ALB, -2.76% surged 4.4% Tuesday, after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to buy from neutral and said worry about aggressive expansion of lithium supply are overdone. Analysts said the the strong selloff in the stock and other lithium stocks in the last few quarters were driven by “a jarring sentiment shift from optimistic enthusiasm for the potential of lithium to fuel the electric vehicle (EV) revolution to growing concerns about aggressive lithium supply expansions that threaten to expose lithium as just another commodity metal.” Their analysis suggests that the lithium market will remain attractive and offer strong returns to leaders in the sector. They see upside potential of 34% for Albemarle, and 30% for rival FMC corp. FMC, -1.07% which they reiterated as a buy. Albemarle shares have fallen 24% in 2018, while FMC shares have lost 5.5%. The S&P 500 SPX, +0.45% has gained 2% in the year so far.