LTHM - Albemarle leads S&P losers; some analysts keep faith on strong lithium prices

Albemarle (ALB -16.7%) plunges by the most on the S&P 500 after its full-year earnings guidance disappointed investors who had expected more with lithium prices at record highs. Lithium peers Livent (LTHM -4.9%), Lithium Americas (LAC -5%) and SQM (SQM -2.6%) also trade sharply lower; ETF: (LIT -1.8%) Investors were hoping for higher guidance, RBC Capital analyst Aleksey Yefremov said, adding that Albemarle's full-year capital spending increase to $1.3B-$1.5B was "a bad surprise." "There may have been some optimism that the contract prices that Albemarle was selling at to their customers would move up as fast as the spot market," Morningstar's Seth Goldstein told Reuters, adding that multi-year contract prices tend to take time to catch up. While investors were disappointed with guidance, Mizuho's Christopher Parkinson called the results "solid" and said the company is "undeniably establishing itself" as a leader in lithium. Citigroup analyst P.J. Juvekar maintained his Buy rating on

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Albemarle leads S&P losers; some analysts keep faith on strong lithium prices