Charlotte, North Carolina-based, Albemarle Corporation (ALB) develops, manufactures, and markets engineered specialty chemicals worldwide. With a market cap of $10.4 billion, Albemarle operates through Energy Storage, Specialties and Ketjen segments.
Companies worth $10 billion or more are generally described as "large-cap stocks," Albemarle fits right into that category, with its market cap exceeding this threshold, reflecting its substantial size and influence in the specialty chemical industry. The company employs approximately 9,000 people worldwide and has served nearly 70 countries.
Despite its notable strengths, Albemarle has plummeted 42.3% from its 52-week high of $153.54 touched on Dec. 22, 2023. ALB stock has gained 3.1% over the past three months, outpacing the Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLB) 9% decline over the same time frame.
However, over the longer term ALB’s performance has remained grim. The stock plunged 38.6% on a YTD basis and 37.8% over the past three months, significantly underperforming XLB’s marginal gains in 2024 and 1.7% returns over the past year.
To confirm the bearish trend and recent consolidations, ALB has predominantly traded below its 200-day moving average over the past year, while experiencing some fluctuations in the past two months, and aligning closely with its 50-day moving average in recent months.
ALB stock gained nearly 3.5% in the trading session after the release of its Q3 results on Nov. 6 as the company delivered volume growth in the Energy Storage and Specialties segments and reduced its selling, general, and admin expenses. However, due to lower Energy Storage and lithium market pricing, its net sales tanked 41.4% year-over-year to $1.4 billion, missing Wall Street’s expectations by 2.2%. Furthermore, the company incurred a $1.1 billion net loss during the quarter, down from the $302.5 net income reported in the year-ago quarter, primarily due to restructuring charges and asset write-offs increasing to $828.1 million.
Meanwhile, the company’s operating cash flows for the past three quarters has dropped over 50.7% year-over-year to $701.4 million, which has led to a reduction in capital expenditures.
Albemarle has also underperformed its peer Westlake Corporation’s (WLK) 19.1% decline on a YTD basis and 19.4% dip in the past year.
Among the 24 analysts covering the ALB stock, the consensus rating is a “Moderate Buy.” Its mean price target of $119.04 represents a 25.5% premium to current price levels.
