UBS’ Bottom Quant Stocks In AI, IT, Healthcare & Others: 29 Stocks In All Sectors

18. Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB)

Number of Hedge Fund Investors In Q2 2024: 32

Sector: Materials

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) is one of the biggest lithium providers in the world. This also makes it one of the worst-performing stocks on the market in 2024 as the shares are down by 34% year to date. The underperformance is driven by several factors. For starters, Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB)’s target industry, namely electric vehicles, hasn’t done well due to slowing demand. The stock didn’t fare well after the 2024 Presidential Election’s results either as investors factored in the incoming Trump Administration’s potential policies towards the clean energy industry. While Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB)’s sizable production base makes it a key player in the global lithium industry, the firm could see trouble in the future if the US and Western nations expand their sanctions against China’s EV industry and EV industry weakness reduces the number of battery manufacturers.

The London Company mentioned Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) in its Q2 2024 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:

“Sold our remaining position in ALB after the stock triggered our soft stop loss review. We are concerned that weaker demand in the US for electric vehicles coupled with greater than expected supply of lithium reaching the market may lead to declining lithium prices. This will likely lead to lower cash flow generation in the years ahead, which weakens the downside protection case for the stock.”