12 Biggest Lithium Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds

4. Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 30

Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) is one of the world’s largest mining corporations, known for exploring and extracting a wide variety of mineral resources. The company’s mining portfolio includes minerals such as lithium, aluminum, copper, iron ore, diamonds, gold and molybdenum, among others. Unlike its competitors, Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) remains committed to lithium production and is one of the only major mining corporations that continues to make significant investments in lithium.

Last December, Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) announced the approval of $2.5 billion for the expansion of its first commercial-scale lithium operation, the Rincon project in Argentina, to produce 60,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium carbonate annually. Along with lithium mining, Rio Tinto’s (NYSE:RIO) joint venture with Sumitomo Metal Mining strengthens the company’s position in the gold and copper industries, both of which are critical for EVs, especially as the Winu project progresses.

RBC Capital Markets maintained its Sector Perform rating on Rio Tinto Plc (NYSE: RIO) and a price target of GBP54.00 on January 17. The update followed reports of preliminary discussions between the mining giant and Glencore about a possible merger. However, this came as somewhat of a surprise, given that Glencore had previously contacted Chinalco, Rio Tinto’s largest shareholder, in July 2014 about a possible merger. Since then, both companies had gone on to different trajectories, with Glencore increasing its holdings, while Rio Tinto selling off its coal assets. RBC Capital expressed some doubts about the feasibility of a simple merger, stating that Rio Tinto’s shareholders might see the deal in Glencore’s favor. On the other hand, the firm also suggested that a deal structure could exist that might satisfy both parties’ shareholders.