Why Albemarle Stock Rocketed 45% in November
Shares of lithium producer Albemarle (NYSE: ALB) increased by an almost unbelievable 45% in November according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Including that massive gain, the stock gain over the first 11 months of 2020 was an impressive 86%. For comparison, the S&P 500 Index, using the SPDR S&P 500 ETF as a proxy, was up just 12.5% over that span. That suggests things are going extremely well for Albemarle, but they aren't.
The stock's November rally started roughly at the same time the company reported earnings early in the month. It beat analysts' earnings expectations for the quarter and provided full-year 2020 guidance that was also above consensus estimates. Helping that along was the company's expectation for a notable improvement in its core lithium business in the final stanza of the year. Lithium is a key component input for electric vehicle batteries. So, in some ways, it was a good quarter and investors cheered the news. With multiple positive coronavirus vaccine updates coming out as the month progressed, investors simply stayed in a buying mood.
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Source Fool.com
