** Shares of lithium miner Albemarle ALB.N up 4.3% at $130.58 premarket
** Jefferies raises price target to $152 from $124, representing a premium of 21.4% to the stock's last close
** Brokerage sees a "fragile equilibrium" in lithium through 2026–29, followed by a shift to meaningful deficits in the early 2030s
** Adds that if interest rates fall and unlock delayed electric vehicle $(EV)$ and storage demand, lithium demand could surprise to the upside, tightening the market and pushing lithium carbonate prices back up to levels
** Nine of 27 brokerages rate the stock "buy" or higher, 16 "hold" and two "sell"; median PT is $110 - data compiled by LSEG
** As of last close, ALB up 45.4% YTD
(Reporting by Dharna Bafna in Bengaluru)
((Dharna.bafna@thomsonreuters.com))
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