This supply-demand imbalance was highlighted by Seeking Alpha: “Industry forecasts continue to point to lithium demand more than doubling by the end of the decade, with 2026 shaping up as a key inflection year where demand growth clearly outpaces new supply. Several higher-cost producers have slowed production or paused expansions, while permitting timelines and capital discipline are keeping new mines from coming online as quickly as once expected. As a result, analysts increasingly expect the lithium market to move from surplus toward deficit starting in 2026.”

Wood Mackenzie added that, “Lithium is irreplaceable for the energy transition, and the industry faces structural supply challenges that require immediate action…Whether we’re on a 1.5°C pathway or something less ambitious, lithium demand will outstrip current supply plans,” Pedersen added… “The question isn’t whether we need more lithium. It’s whether the industry can mobilise capital fast enough to meet demand while navigating an increasingly fragmented global trade environment.” 

In short, with analysts warning of potential supply deficits as early as 2028, the industry faces mounting pressure to bring new projects online. All of which is creating substantial opportunities for related lithium stocks.

Albemarle: A Pure-Play Leader Positioned for a Lithium Rebound

Albemarle (NYSE: ALB) remains one of the most important and established names in the lithium space, making it a cornerstone holding for investors seeking direct exposure to the market. The company has recently attracted renewed attention from Wall Street, with several major banks raising both their price targets and ratings.

This growing optimism reflects expectations for tighter supply conditions and stronger lithium pricing ahead. Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB), for example, recently upgraded Albemarle to a Buy rating and set a price target of $185.

Analysts at Baird upgraded ALB to a Buy and raised their price target to $210. As cited by Seeking Alpha, Baird analysts wrote: “We are incrementally positive given the recent increase in lithium prices and our view that demand strength stemming from stationary storage will continue to propel ALB higher.”

If you don’t want to buy individual stocks, you can still trade using ETFs. Here are two names to consider.

Diversified Exposure to the Battery Ecosystem

For investors looking for diversification on the cheap, the Amplify Lithium & Battery Technology ETF (NYSEARCA: BATT) is worth considering.

With an expense ratio of 0.59%, BATT provides exposure to companies involved across the battery ecosystem, including battery storage, battery metals, materials, and electric vehicles. Its diversified approach reduces single-company risk while maintaining leverage to the broader lithium and battery technology trend.

Some of BATT’s top holdings include Tesla, BYD, Panasonic Holdings, BHP Group, Albemarle, and Ganfeng Lithium.

A Direct Bet on the Lithium Value Chain

Another popular option is the Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF (NYSEARCA: LIT). With an expense ratio of 0.75%, LIT offers exposure to the full lithium value chain — from mining and refining to battery manufacturing and electric vehicle production. The ETF holds 40 stocks, Albemarle, Tesla, Ganfeng Lithium, BYD Co., Lucid Group, and Mineral Resources. 

The Lithium Supply Crunch Could Be the Next Big Catalyst

If industry forecasts prove accurate, the lithium market may be approaching a turning point. Years of weak prices forced producers to cut spending, delay expansions, and shelve new projects. That restraint could soon collide with accelerating demand from electric vehicles, grid-scale storage, and consumer electronics.

For investors, the result may be a familiar commodity cycle setup: tightening supply meeting rising demand. Companies like Albemarle offer direct exposure to lithium pricing, while ETFs such as BATT and LIT provide diversified ways to participate.

As the market shifts from surplus toward deficit, lithium-related stocks could become one of the most important energy transition trades of the decade.

Oftentimes, there’s a good reason for their buying spree. Here are a few stocks you may want to keep an eye on now.

Insider Buying Stocks: CoStar Group

Commercial real estate giant CoStar Group (NASDAQ: CSGP) has plunged since the stock hit approximately $70 a share in late December 2025. Now at $48.38, two activist investors, including D.E. Shaw and Third Point, want the company to scale back its investments in Homes.com. Plus, it’s seeing healthy insider buying.

As noted by Barron’s, “Both activist firms previously secured board seats and created a capital allocation committee in 2025, but they argue those changes haven’t improved performance. Third Point renewed its campaign in January, with CEO Daniel Loeb calling the board ‘feckless’ and demanding a change in strategy.”

CoStar doesn’t invest in commercial real estate directly. Rather, it’s a provider of information, analytics and online marketplaces for the commercial real estate industry. The company gathers property-level data, builds market analytics and supplies research tools used by brokers, owners, lenders, investors and other real estate professionals to evaluate markets, track inventory and manage listings.

Board director Rachel Glaser just bought 1,000 shares for $44.94 a share for $197,873. President of Marketplaces Fred Saint bought 20,000 shares on March 1 at an average price of $45.33 for about $906,600. CEO and Founder Andy Florance also picked up 55,720 shares for $44.52 a share for about $24.8 million. 

Insider Buying Stocks: KKR & Co.

Private credit has been getting destroyed in 2026. And as one of the leading names in the space, KKR & Co. (NYSE: KKR) has been a tough stock to own. KKR stock is down about 34% in the three months ending March 6. However, the crushed shares are getting some insider support.

Specifically, after the stock dropped from about $135 to less than $90, Co-CEOs Joseph Bae and Scott Nuttall purchased a combined $8.8 million worth of KKR stock last week.  “In total, the board members and co-CEOs have purchased more than $46 million worth of shares since Feb. 11,” added Barron’s.

“These purchases reflect our leadership team’s strong confidence in our future performance,” a KKR spokesperson told Barron’s.

Insider Buying Stocks: SoFi Technologies

Insiders are also buying SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ: SOFI) after a post-earnings dip. Rob Lavet, general counsel, bought 5,000 shares for about $21.04 each. Eric Schuppenhauer, the head of borrowing, picked up 5,000 shares at $19.93 per share.

That kind of buying makes sense for a couple of reasons. First, as of March 9, SOFI stock is technically oversold at $20.40. 

Second, the stock was recently upgraded by analysts at JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) to overweight. The firm said, “Momentum in the business is undeniable, as SoFi continues to add new members and deposits at a record pace, while other fintechs report deposit outflows or stagnant member growth, and investments in marketing in ‘25 and 1H26 set the stage for continued premium customer acquisition and engagement for the foreseeable future,” as quoted by Seeking Alpha.

Insider Buying Stocks: Ares Management

Director Ashish Bhutani just bought 10,000 shares of Ares Management Corp. (NYSE: ARES) for about $1.27 million. ARES was also upgraded to a Buy rating at Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) after fourth-quarter earnings. 

“While the Q4 results presented a headline miss on realized income, we believe the market’s concerns regarding private credit fundamentals and potential AI disruption are overblown relative to (the) likelihood of durable FRE (fee-related earnings) growth remaining intact across our forecast horizon,” said the analysts as quoted by Seeking Alpha.

“We see several key tailwinds for 2026. First, mgmt. expects fundraising to remain robust in 2026, citing an expectation for total fundraising this year to meet or exceed records in 2025. Second, the outlook for FRE margin expansion was reaffirmed on the call, as management guided to the high end of its 0-150 bps annual expansion target range, supported by synergies from the GCP integration, improving operating efficiencies, with the data center business becoming a positive FRE contributor. 

Making ARES even more attractive, it just declared a $1.35 per share dividend, which is payable on March 31 to shareholders of record as of March 17.

Insider Buying Stocks: Lumen Technologies

 Over at Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN), CEO Kathleen Johnson just bought about $500,000 worth of stock, picking up 76,685 shares. “Kate Johnson’s recent open-market stock purchase reflects her continued confidence in Lumen’s long-term strategy and the value the company is creating through its transformation,” said the company, as quoted by Barron’s.

“This is not the first time Kate has personally invested in Lumen shares, underscoring her strong belief in the company’s future as a digital networking services leader driving enterprise growth and innovation for a multi-cloud, AI economy,” they added.

Apple Draws Analyst Upgrades Ahead of Earnings

Expecting a solid report, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) reiterated its overweight rating on Apple and raised its price target to $315 from $305 ahead of Apple’s first-quarter earnings.

Evercore ISI added Apple to its Tactical Outperform list, arguing that strong iPhone demand positions the company for strong earnings. The firm reiterated an Outperform rating and a $330 price target on Apple stock. Evercore expects iPhone revenue to climb 17% year over year, which would be well above calls for 11% growth.

And, according to CEO Tim Cook, “First-quarter revenue is expected to demonstrate year-over-year growth ranging from 10% to 12%, which translates to $136.7 billion to $139.2 billion. This would easily eclipse Apple’s previous record-high quarterly revenue of $124.3 billion, set in the first quarter of fiscal 2025. What’s more, it would stand as Apple’s most significant year-over-year revenue jump since the first quarter of fiscal 2022, when it posted an 11.2% increase,” as quoted by Seeking Alpha.

However, Apple isn’t the only stock that analysts are gushing over.

Meta Surges as Analyst Upgrades Follow Blowout Results

Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META) exploded after the company posted EPS of $8.88 on revenue of $59.89 billion. Those came in above estimates for $8.23 and $58.59 billion. Meta also issued strong guidance, expecting first-quarter sales of $53.5 billion to $56.5 billion, which is above estimates of $51.41 billion.

Analysts loved the news, with Barclays raising its price target to $800 from $770, with an overweight rating.

“After a jittery response to 3Q, META got back to business in 4Q. More impressive than the massive capex/opex growth is the ad rev trajectory, eclipsing 30% in 1Q, papering over many investor concerns. META continues to set the pace for the digital ad industry, with AI option value still ahead,” added the firm, as quoted by CNBC.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) has an overweight rating with an $825 price target. JPMorgan has an overweight rating with an $825 price target. Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) has a buy rating with an $835 price target. Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) has an overweight rating with an $849 price target. Citigroup (NYSE: C) has a buy rating with an $850 price target. UBS Group (NYSE: UBS) also has a buy rating with an $872 price target.

Bank of America Reiterates Buy on IBM

Analysts at Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) just reiterated a buy rating on IBM (NYSE: IBM), with a price target of $340. The firm noted that IBM posted an overall beat on topline numbers thanks to upside in Infrastructure, improving Transaction processing and solid growth in Data.

Not only did it just declare a $1.68 per share dividend (payable on March 10 for shareholders of record as of February 10), it also posted EPS of $4.52 billion, which was above expectations by 23 cents. Revenue of $19.69 billion, up 12.2%, beat by $480 million.

“In the fourth quarter, we delivered strong revenue growth, with double-digit Software performance. Additionally, Infrastructure continued its double-digit revenue growth with the robust adoption of the next generation of our mainframe platform. Our generative AI book of business now stands at more than $12.5 billion. This capped a strong 2025 for IBM where we exceeded expectations for revenue, profit and free cash flow,” said Arvind Krishna, IBM chairman, president and chief executive officer. 

“We enter 2026 with momentum and in a position of strength, giving us confidence in our full-year expectations of more than 5 percent constant currency revenue growth and an increase of about $1 billion in year-over-year free cash flow.”

Microsoft Slides on Guidance, But Analyst Support Holds

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) reported that cloud growth slowed in the second quarter. It also issued soft guidance on operating margins. 

The good news is that MSFT’s EPS of $4.14 was better than the estimates of $3.97. Revenue of $81.27 billion was also higher than the estimates for $80.27 billion. With guidance, the company called for revenue of between $80.65 billion and $81.75 billion, with its mid-range of $81.2 billion meeting estimates of $81.19 billion.

With the stock dropping, Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) reiterated a buy rating on MSFT with a $575 price target. The firm noted that MSFT “reported another solid result for F2Q, but it ultimately fell short of more lofty market expectations, in particular for Azure growth,” as quoted by CNBC.

Analyst Upgrades Signal Continued Confidence in Big Tech

The latest round of analyst upgrades after earnings suggests Wall Street remains confident in the long-term outlook for Big Tech. While short-term volatility may follow guidance updates or elevated expectations, consistent earnings strength and AI-driven growth continue to support bullish sentiment across the sector.