Electric Vehicles Aren’t The Only Thing Driving Lithium Stocks Right Now
When it comes to investing, lithium stocks have provided a great return in the last year. The pandemic caused lithium mines to shut down. This resulted in a lithium shortage which brought up demand for the material. Then, many lithium stocks rose to prominence in 2020 and 2021.
But what is the reason that lithium stocks are going up so much? The first reason has to do with electric vehicles. The EV market has been growing every year. Electric vehicle stocks are climbing, production numbers are rising, and sales are stronger than ever. Most if not all production electric vehicles use lithium ion batteries. This makes lithium an essential material for use in EVs.
Electric vehicles are not the only market that lithium is used in. Many electronics you use in your everyday life use lithium ion battery technology. Lithium ion batteries are used in scooters, tools, electric toothbrushes, laptops, digital cameras, and much more. This battery technology is even used in heart pacemakers. So even when demand for electric vehicles is lower, which is not often, lithium is still needed around the world.
Often when electric vehicle stocks like Tesla Inc. (
NASDAQ: TSLA
) are performing well, lithium stocks will too. Lithium stocks saw a lot of momentum at the start of 2021 and then pulled back. Now as EV stocks are going back up in the market, lithium stocks are following suit. As 2021 continues forward, investors want to see what reopening will do to the electric vehicle market and lithium. With all of this in mind, let’s take a look at a few lithium stocks to watch in May.
Lithium Stocks To Watch
-
Livent Corporation (
NYSE: LTHM
) -
Lithium Americas Corp. (
NYSE: LAC
) -
Piedmont Lithium Limited (
NASDAQ: PLL
)
Livent Corporation (NYSE: LTHM)
This first lithium stock, Livent Corporation, has gone up in price significantly in the last year. But what does Livent do? This lithium stock is a manufacturing company that creates and sells lithium batteries. It also sells polymer and chemical synthesis applications as well. Livent operates in North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It also offers lithium compounds for use in applications like lithium hydroxide for potteries.
Companies in the lithium-ion battery market are in the best position they’ve been in, in a long time. Livent is a part of this wave. Recently Paul Graves, president and CEO of the company spoke at the Goldman Sachs Industrials & Materials Conference. The company also released its first quarter results at the start of this month. Its revenue increased by 12% from the fourth quarter of 2020. Its adjusted EBITDA grew 98% higher since last quarter as well.
Graves said, “We are becoming increasingly confident in the trajectory of lithium demand growth over the coming years behind the increasing support for electrification from OEMs, governments and consumers alike. At Livent, we are focused on executing on our expansion plans as we continue to build upon our low cost and sustainable operations, and our position as a partner of choice to leading auto OEM and battery producers.” With such a bullish sentiment on lithium at the moment, will LTHM stock make your watchlist?
Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE: LAC)
Lithium Americas Corp. is a resource company that explores for lithium deposits. The company holds interest in the Cauchari-Olaroz Project, Thacker Pass project, and more. These projects are located in Argentina and Nevada. Lithium Americas experienced a large amount of positive momentum in the last year as the EV and tech markets have grown.
On May 6
th
, Lithium Americas reported its first quarter 2021 results. Year over year, the company’s cash and cash equivalents grew on a massive sale. This was the same for its total assets as well. Its expenses and net loss fell year over year, further helping the company progress in the market.
Lithium Americas projects are all making good progress, like its Cauchari-Olaroz mine which is continuing construction and is expected to start production in mid-22. No COVID-19 cases have been reported at site in more than 7 months. On May 18
th
, LAC stock has increased by 5%. Will this lithium stock make it on to your watchlist?
Piedmont Lithium Limited (NASDAQ: PLL)
Piedmont Lithium explores and develops various resource projects all over the United States. The company has a 100% interest in the Piedmont lithium project that covers more than 2,126 acres in North Carolina. It additionally owns a 61 acre property in Kings Mountain, North Carolina for similar exploration purposes.
The company just announced that the scheme of arrangement to give effect to the re-domiciliation of Piedmont from Australia to the U.S. has been implemented. This means that all shares of Piedmont Australia have been transferred to Piedmont. On the day of this announcement, PLL stock price increased by more than 7%.
Last month the company announced that it has increased its lithium resources by 40%. With all of this progress being made by Piedmont, it will be interesting to see what is in its next financial report. With all of this information in mind, will you add PLL to your lithium stock watchlist?
Lithium Stocks In 2021
Lithium stocks have been high performers over the last year. But what does this look like for the future? This sector has some of the best performing mining stocks since the start of 2020. Lithium demand will only grow stronger as EV companies and tech manufacturers continue to require the battery technology for products. It does not seem like there is a better battery technology that could replace lithium-ion any time soon either. This is why there is such a bullish sentiment around lithium. Many companies such as Rio-Tinto (
NYSE: RIO
) are entering the lithium industry amid all of this positive performance. Keeping this in mind, will these companies make it on to your mining stock watchlist?
