We recently published a list of the 8 Best EV Battery Stocks To Buy in Late 2024. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) stands against other best EV battery stocks to buy in late 2024.

Future of Lithium with M&A Activity and Regional Consolidation Trends

While lithium was down for a long time due to oversupply this year, it seems like the market is gaining back some interest in the metal as can be seen in recent M&A activity. The Australian mining giant Rio decided to acquire Arcadium for a healthy premium showing confidence in the future of the lithium market.

Romano Sala Tenna of Katana Asset Management discussed this in a CNBC interview and he sees continued growth opportunities in the Australian M&A market. It is driven by two key factors: it remains cheaper to acquire existing assets than to build new ones, and regulatory hurdles for new projects are increasing, causing delays.

On the global hunt for lithium, Sala Tenna discussed the competition, especially between China and other countries. He explained that China dominates the upstream processing of lithium, controlling the production of both spodumene and brine.

More importantly, China leads in the downstream processing, producing lithium chemicals for batteries, due to its technological edge and economies of scale. He sees Japan and South Korea trying to challenge China’s position but believes China will maintain its dominance.

Finally, Sala Tenna mentioned that more mergers and acquisitions are expected in important lithium-producing areas like Western Australia and South America, as these regions lead in global lithium production.

READ ALSO: 8 Best EV Penny Stocks to Invest in Now and 7 Best Auto Components and Parts Stocks to Buy Right Now.

Innovations in Battery Technology

While lithium batteries with graphite anodes seem to be the most widely used and known ones, innovations are happening to expand the battery industry in the EV market. According to a Markets and Markets report, The Future of Silicon Battery Industry: Innovations and Market Outlook, the silicon battery market is projected to grow significantly, increasing from $55 million in 2023 to $414 million by 2028, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 49.5%.

The growth is fueled by the adoption of next-generation lithium-ion batteries that use silicon anodes, which offer greater energy storage capacity and longer battery life. Geographically, North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific are expected to lead the silicon battery market, supported by government policies, advancements in energy storage technology, and the rise of electric mobility.

Additionally, solid-state batteries have the potential to shorten charging times significantly, which could greatly improve consumer satisfaction and boost the demand for EVs. We mentioned this in our article about the best EV stocks for the long term, where we discussed CNBC’s conversation with Mark Fields. Here is an excerpt from the article:

“Fields suggested that automakers need to offer more affordable EVs and expand hybrid offerings while working towards breakthroughs in battery technology, especially solid-state batteries. These batteries could eventually reduce charging times to match the convenience of filling up at a gas station…

…He emphasized that while automakers are working on delivering low-cost EVs, the real game-changer will be the development of solid-state batteries, which could significantly improve charging times and consumer convenience.”

Our Methodology

For this article, we used ETFs and screeners to identify nearly 30 EV battery stocks and narrowed our list to 8 stocks most widely held by institutional investors. The best EV battery stocks to buy in late 2024 are listed in ascending order of their hedge fund sentiment, which was taken from Insider Monkey’s database of 912 hedge funds.

Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).

Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 29

Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) is a multinational mining and metals company. It is involved in multiple sectors, including copper, aluminum, diamonds, and lithium, making it one of the best EV battery stocks.

While the company already has significant lithium assets, it has planned to further expand its operations in the industry with the acquisition of Arcadium Lithium plc. On October 9, the company announced its plans to acquire Arcadium in an all-cash deal valued at $5.85 per share at approximately $6.7 billion.

Arcadium Lithium is recognized as a rapidly growing, vertically integrated producer of lithium chemicals, with an annual production capacity of 75,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent, and plans to more than double this by 2028. It is one of the major lithium suppliers of Tesla.

Rio Tinto’s (NYSE:RIO) CEO Jakob Stausholm emphasized that this acquisition aligns with the company’s long-term strategy to establish a strong lithium business alongside its existing aluminum and copper operations. Arcadium’s assets are expected to support significant growth in lithium production, contributing to a projected 130% capacity increase by 2028. The transaction is expected to close in mid-2025.

Bank of America Securities analyst Jason Fairclough sees significant potential for the company in light of this deal. On October 11, TipRanks reported that the analyst reaffirmed a Buy rating for Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) with a price target of 7,300.00 GBp. Fairclough views this deal as a strategic move to improve the company’s growth in the lithium sector.

He considers the deal’s valuation reasonable and noted the implied 6x EBITDA multiple for 2028 is consistent with Rio’s (NYSE:RIO) existing metrics. He pointed out that the stock is currently trading at about 0.7x net present value (NPV), which presents a compelling entry point for investors. The analyst believes the timing of the lithium acquisition is advantageous, especially as high-cost producers in China are cutting back on production, which may indicate a market stabilization.

Overall, RIO ranks 4th on our list of best EV battery stocks to buy in late 2024. While we acknowledge the potential of RIO as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than RIO but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: 8 Best Wide Moat Stocks to Buy Now and 30 Most Important AI Stocks According to BlackRock.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.