ALBEMARLE: The share is now performing magnificently!

The shares of the US specialty chemicals company - with a focus on lithium - ALBEMARLE are a prime example of how quickly the tide can turn on the stock market. The price increase to the current level of around USD 130 seems almost "crazy" when you consider that the share was still bobbing around at a 52-week low of USD 49.43 on April 8, 2025. At that time, our "nose was turned up in extremis", but as you can see, holding out with established blue chips is always worthwhile! The picture becomes even more abstruse when you look at the chart and see the highs in the region of a whopping USD 280 (2022). With our purchase price of currently USD 126.07 (including dividends), the deep blue eye and the deep red book loss are at least "tempi passati"! We are relieved and happy. The price question remains as to whether the share can continue its flow and whether we will now reach the interim utopian price target of USD 154 after all. Or is there even a chance of an increase to beat the weakness of the US dollar and boost performance?

If the Chairman of the Chinese Ganfeng Lithium Group, Li Liangbin, is to be believed, the lithium price could soon reach the level of CNY 150,000 to CNY 200,000; we are currently at around CNY 94,000. Although there is still a supply surplus of around 200,000 tons, supply can hardly keep up with the rapid growth in demand. Demand is expected to grow by 30% as early as 2026. This would require a noticeable increase in demand for large-scale battery storage (AI data centers, etc.) to more than compensate for the current shortfall in electric vehicles. At the same time, the Chinese e-car market continues to boom according to sales figures. If we were (able to) sell the position at USD 154 (FX: 0.80), this would leave a small net gain of +8%. Should we avoid a "second black eye"? For the time being, we remain invested anyway.