Research from Water Tower Research, Water Tower Research

Water Tower Research

Water Tower Research is a leading equity research firm that provides research on micro, small and mid cap companies.

Water Tower Research was founded by Wall Street veterans after witnessing a fundamental shift in the investment research industry with the result being a declining knowledge base among investors, a lack of awareness and a shrinking pool of fundamental research being conducted on companies across the small-cap and micro-cap spectrum. The same issues are now increasingly occurring in the mid-cap space. This sea change within the investment community is impacting not only the companies themselves but also current shareholders and potential investors. With significantly less active sell-side sponsorship by Wall Street, a substantial information gap has developed between companies and various constituents in the financial community. The net result is fewer channels for insight and information to flow between companies and investors.

Research from Water Tower Research

Equity Research Firm

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

Multiple Countries / Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<h2>KEY HIGHLIGHTS</h2>
<p>WTR-CMI last week. The Russell 2000 led the way last week with a 1.4% appreciation. Our WTR-CMI index of chemicals and materials technology companies almost kept apace by rising 1.3%, and handily outperformed the S&amp;P 500, which fell 1.8%.</p>
<p>Winners and losers. Last week saw a rash of earnings releases and guidance for 2022, and, as is their wont, stock prices moved based on those announcements. AVNT surged 9.1% after delivering stronger-than-expected revenues and profits and providing a solid outlook for 2022. Similarly, strong results and outlook for the ag market -in 2022 resulted in FMC appreciating 6.9%. ALB and LAC rose 6.9% and 5.7%, respectively, continuing to benefit from record high lithium prices and strong demand, as well as concerns of near-term supply deficit in the rapidly growing EV market. Conversely, CMP missed expectations in F1Q22 (Dec-22) and its guidance for F2022 did not live up to expectations, so the stock slipped 4.1%. A rash of price target reductions by investment banks dragged SHW (3.1%) down. EAF’s results were likewise uninspiring, leading to a (2.7%) fall.</p>
<p>Teaching an old dog new tricks. Valvoline, a top-3 domestic supplier of engine lubes and liquids, recently unveiled its&nbsp;suite of offerings for the burgeoning EV market. For several years now, investors have been growing concerned over the long-term viability of VVV’s business model, given its almost-exclusive focus on internal combustion and diesel engines. While the company has been claiming that, as a regular and preventive maintenance provider, it can successfully manage the transition to EVs—given that they, too, need periodically replaced parts and fluids to operate properly—this announcement, which formalizes the process, may allay some concerns.</p>
<p>Industry consolidation. PPG announced the acquisition of the&nbsp;powder coatings business of Arsonsisi, an industrial coatings company based in Milan, Italy, with 2021 sales of ~$15 million. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022. Elsewhere, ALB signed a&nbsp;non-binding agreement with Mineral Resources&nbsp;(ASX: MIN) to explore a potential expansion of the MARBL Lithium JV.</p>
<h3>WTR-CMI WEEKLY PERFORMANCE</h3>
<figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/257/866/original/image_79402182221645137364342.png?1645137367" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="257866"></figure>
<h3>Lithium &amp; EV Ecosystem Developments</h3>
<p>The EV market isn’t immune to chip shortages. The global semiconductor shortage, and the disruption in the supply of other critical components for the automotive industry, continue to plague the EV market (see below). To be sure, production doubled in 2021 vs. 2020, but the market has not been completely shielded from supply disruptions either. Thus, last week,&nbsp;Volkswagen has implemented a quota system&nbsp;in its German retail network for its ID battery-electric cars amid the chips crunch, and has paused production of EVs at its plants in Zwickau and Dresden, Germany.</p>
<p>Circular economy imperatives drive recycling need. Despite the aforementioned impact of supply-chain disruptions, the EV revolution is expected to accelerate, which would require more lithium-ion batteries and lithium mineral. As we mentioned in our previous weeklies, for EVs to fulfill their sustainability mission, lithium mining and refining must also reduce their impact on the environment. One way to accomplish this is to limit the amount of lithium that needs to be dug up and refined into battery-grade chemicals, and instead develop viable and cost-effective battery recycling technologies, so as to create material circularity and reduce the energy and environmental costs. A new&nbsp;study published in&nbsp;The Journal of the Indian Institute of Science&nbsp;highlighted the fact that lithium battery collection and recycling rates are far below those of traditional lead-acid batteries. While lack of recycling has been a non-critical issue when lithium batteries were limited to consumer electronics, the scale of the problem will grow exponentially as EV batteries reach their end of life. Given that only 1% of lithium batteries are currently recycled, compared with 90-99% of lead-acid batteries, the need to develop viable recycling processes and operations provides substantial opportunities for first movers. Taking cue is Singapore-based&nbsp;Green Li-ion, a maker of hydrometallurgical systems to recycle lithium-ion batteries. It recently announced the completion of a funding round from multiple investors and seeks to set up its first large-scale system in the U.S., as well as other projects based on memoranda of understanding (MoUs) signed recently for additional systems. Similarly,&nbsp;Stena Recycling&nbsp;of Sweden started construction of its new battery recycling plant in Halmstad, plans for which were announced in July 2021. The company expects the plant to be up and running in the first quarter of 2023.</p>
<p>Auto companies continue to partner for battery production. Meanwhile,&nbsp;Volkswagen and Robert Bosch&nbsp;plan to set up a joint venture by the end of this year to equip battery cell factories, and help make Europe self-sufficient in battery production. The new venture will deliver battery production systems as well as assist battery cell manufacturers in scaling up and maintaining their production sites. Europe has aggressive goals for turning itself into an EV mecca. Accordingly, various companies plan to build cell factories with a total annual capacity of around 700 gigawatt-hours by 2030. VW alone plans to build six such factories with annual capacity of 240 GWh by 2030. Obviously, such rapid expansion of production will be facilitated by standardizing processes and technologies, which is the aim of the proposed JV.</p>
<h3>Automotive &amp; Transportation</h3>
<p>It will get better eventually. According to AutoForecast Solutions, the global automotive industry has lost 10.8 million vehicles to production disruptions, courtesy the semiconductor shortages that began in 2021. The firm estimates that so far this year, lack of chips impacted production of 370K units—or, close to 4.5 million on an annualized basis. Demand remains strong, but supply is still limited because it takes 1-2 years to build, validate and ramp up commercial production of a new semiconductor fab. Consequently, while chip manufacturers expect better supply situation in 2022 compared with 2021,&nbsp;the improvements in availability will be back-end loaded, a sentiment echoed by VW’s head of procurement. Given the tough March-May 2021 production and sales comps, 1H22 may be a bumpy period for automotive industry suppliers, including plastics and composites, adhesives, sealants, and coatings. PPG, AXTA, AVNT, HXL and FUL may be particularly exposed among the stocks in our index.</p>
<p>As if chip shortage wasn’t enough. Confirming the previous cautious outlook, Ford recently&nbsp;announced that it plans&nbsp;to suspend, or cut, production at eight assembly plants in the U.S., Mexico and Canada throughout next week because of microchip supply constraints. The company expects its 1Q22 production to be down vs. year-ago period. Further complicating forecasting and production is the ongoing protest of Canadian truckers and the impact that is having on parts availability from Canada. Again, Ford blamed at least&nbsp;one plant shutdown&nbsp;decision on lack of parts from Canada. While the&nbsp;European automotive market is expected to grow 8%&nbsp;in 2022 vs. 2021, we suspect much of that growth will occur in 2H22. Even if these forecasts prove correct, production levels in 2022 will still be 20% below 2019, suggesting that suppliers to the auto industry may not fully recover until sometime in 2023, or even 2024. Meantime, Toyota once again&nbsp;cut its production outlook&nbsp;for the remainder of its fiscal year (FY end Mar-22) and expects chip shortages and COVID-19-related shutdowns to result in a production loss of 480K vehicles in the Mar-Q.</p>
<h3>Ag-Chem and Ag-Tech</h3>
<p>All eyes on LATAM. Drought in Latin America—from Brazil to Argentina to Paraguay—is reducing expectations for corn and soy harvests in the region during the 2021-22 harvest season. The&nbsp;USDA recently cut&nbsp;its yield and production estimates for the region, as well as its global tonnage forecasts, because of deteriorating weather conditions. Private&nbsp;forecasters went even further, cutting Brazilian soy production outlook to below the 130 million ton threshold. Yields are notoriously difficult to forecast, as the North American market proved in 2021. It is possible that the situation in LATAM&nbsp;may not turn out to be as dire&nbsp;as it currently looks. However, one thing is clear—lower production out of LATAM will positively impact demand for U.S. crops and thus, commodity crop prices. This should allow U.S. farmers to afford significantly higher input costs, particularly those for ag-chems and fertilizers. Given higher expectations for crop prices, farmer income in 2022 may be sufficient to create strong demand for pesticides and fertilizers—and solid financial conditions—as the market comes out of 2022. That would be a positive for ag-chem companies such as FMC and CTVA, as well as fertilizer companies such as CF. Furthermore, positive end-market conditions may persist into 2023, as drought often leads to increased pest pressures,&nbsp;driving demand for rescue insecticides&nbsp;during the season, and helping to clear out previous backlog in the distribution channel. That augurs well for demand and pricing in 2023.</p>
<h3>Rating and Price Target Changes</h3>
<p><strong>AVNT</strong>&nbsp;– Citigroup reduced its price target (PT) to $63 from $68, but reiterated its Buy recommendation.</p>
<p><strong>CMP</strong>&nbsp;– JP Morgan downgraded to Underweight from Neutral, and reduced its PT to $52 from $57.</p>
<p><strong>EAF</strong>&nbsp;– RBC lowered its PT to $13 from $14 and reiterated its Outperform rating.</p>
<p><strong>FMC</strong> – Mizuho Securities raised its PT to $136 from $126 and reiterated its Buy&nbsp; recommendation; Wells Fargo raised its PT to $130 from $123 and reiterated Outperform; Monness Crespi raised its PT to $130 from $126 and reiterated its Buy rating; Morgan Stanley raised its PT to $125 from $115 and maintained its Equal Weight rating.</p>
<p><strong>FUL</strong>&nbsp;– Berenberg Bank raised its PT to $85 from $81 and reiterated its Buy rating.</p>
<p><strong>MTX</strong>&nbsp;– JP Morgan upgraded to Overweight from Neutral, while reducing its PT to $75 from $80; CL King also lowered its PT to $87 from $90, but reiterated its Buy recommendation.</p>
<p><strong>SHW</strong>&nbsp;– Evercore ISI raised its PT to $325 from $320 and reiterated its Outperform rating.</p>
<h3>DISCLOSURES</h3>
<p>Water Tower Research (“WTR”) is a professional publisher of investment research reports on public companies and, to a lesser extent, private firms (“the Companies”). WTR provides investor-focused content and digital distribution strategies designed to help companies communicate with investors.<br><br>WTR is not a registered investment adviser or a broker/dealer nor does WTR provide investment banking services. WTR operates as an exempt investment adviser under the so called “publishers’ exemption” from the definition of investment adviser under Section 202(a)(11) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. WTR does not provide investment ratings / recommendations or price targets on the companies it reports on. Readers are advised that the research reports are published and provided solely for informational purposes and should not be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities or the rendering of investment advice. The information provided in this report should not be construed in any manner whatsoever as personalized advice. All users and readers of WTR’s reports are cautioned to consult their own independent financial, tax and legal advisors prior to purchasing or selling securities.<br><br>Dmitry Silversteyn, who is the writer of this report, covers the Chemicals &amp; Materials Technology and BioEconomy sectors for WTR. Mr. Silversteyn and members of his household have no personal or business-related relationship to the subject company other than providing digital content and any ancillary services WTR may offer.<br><br>Unless otherwise indicated, WTR intends to provide continuing coverage of the covered companies. WTR will notify its readers through website postings or other appropriate means if WTR determines to terminate coverage of any of the companies covered.<br><br>In certain instances, including this report, WTR will write research covering non-clients. Readers should assume that WTR may seek to turn these non-paying companies into paying clients. Likewise, WTR may seek to transform these non-clients into paying clients of it or of its affiliate, which provides services such as presenting at sponsored investor conferences, distributing press releases, advising on investor relations and broader corporate communications and public relations strategies as well as performing certain other related services (“Ancillary Services”). The companies that WTR covers in our research are not required to purchase or use Ancillary Services of WTR or an affiliate might offer to clients.<br><br>The manner of WTR’s potential research compensation and Ancillary Services to covered companies raise actual and perceived conflicts of interest. WTR is committed to manage those conflicts to protect its reputation and the objectivity of employees/analysts by adhering to strictly written compliance guidelines.<br><br>The views and analyses included in our research reports are based on current public information that we consider to be reliable, but no representation or warranty, expressed or implied, is made as to their accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or correctness. Neither we nor our analysts, directors, officers, employees, representatives, independent contractors or agents shall be liable for any omissions, errors or inaccuracies, regardless of cause, foreseeability or the lack of timeliness of, or any delay or interruptions in the transmission of our reports to content users. This lack of liability extends to direct, indirect, incidental, exemplary, compensatory, punitive, special or consequential damages, costs, expenses, legal fees, losses, lost income, lost profit or opportunity costs.<br><br>All investment information contained herein should be independently verified by the reader or user of this report. For additional information, all readers of this report are encouraged to visit WTR’s website www.watertowerresearch.com.</p>

KEY HIGHLIGHTS
WTR-CMI last week. The Russell 2000 led the way last week with a 1.4% appreciation. Our WTR-CMI index of chemicals and materials technology companies almost kept apace by rising 1.3%, and handily outperformed the S&amp;P 500, which fell 1.8%.
Winners and losers. Last week saw a rash of earnings releases and guidance for 2022, and, as is their wont, stock prices moved based on those announcements. AVNT surged 9.1% after delivering stronger-than-expected revenues and profits and providing a solid outlook for 2022. Similarly, strong results and outlook for the ag market -in 2022 resulted in FMC appreciating 6.9%. ALB and LAC rose 6.9% and 5.7%, respectively, continuing to benefit from record high lithium prices and strong demand, as well as concerns of near-term supply deficit in the rapidly growing EV market. Conversely, CMP missed expectations in F1Q22 (Dec-22) and its guidance for F2022 did not live up to expectations, so the stock slipped 4.1%. A rash of price target reductions by investment banks dragged SHW (3.1%) down. EAF’s results were likewise uninspiring, leading to a (2.7%) fall.
Teaching an old dog new tricks. Valvoline, a top-3 domestic supplier of engine lubes and liquids, recently unveiled its&nbsp;suite of offerings for the burgeoning EV market. For several years now, investors have been growing concerned over the long-term viability of VVV’s business model, given its almost-exclusive focus on internal combustion and diesel engines. While the company has been claiming that, as a regular and preventive maintenance provider, it can successfully manage the transition to EVs—given that they, too, need periodically replaced parts and fluids to operate properly—this announcement, which formalizes the process, may allay some concerns.
Industry consolidation. PPG announced the acquisition of the&nbsp;powder coatings business of Arsonsisi, an industrial coatings company based in Milan, Italy, with 2021 sales of ~$15 million. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022. Elsewhere, ALB signed a&nbsp;non-binding agreement with Mineral Resources&nbsp;(ASX: MIN) to explore a potential expansion of the MARBL Lithium JV.
WTR-CMI WEEKLY PERFORMANCE

Lithium &amp; EV Ecosystem Developments
The EV market isn’t immune to chip shortages. The global semiconductor shortage, and the disruption in the supply of other critical components for the automotive industry, continue to plague the EV market (see below). To be sure, production doubled in 2021 vs. 2020, but the market has not been completely shielded from supply disruptions either. Thus, last week,&nbsp;Volkswagen has implemented a quota system&nbsp;in its German retail network for its ID battery-electric cars amid the chips crunch, and has paused production of EVs at its plants in Zwickau and Dresden, Germany.
Circular economy imperatives drive recycling need. Despite the aforementioned impact of supply-chain disruptions, the EV revolution is expected to accelerate, which would require more lithium-ion batteries and lithium mineral. As we mentioned in our previous weeklies, for EVs to fulfill their sustainability mission, lithium mining and refining must also reduce their impact on the environment. One way to accomplish this is to limit the amount of lithium that needs to be dug up and refined into battery-grade chemicals, and instead develop viable and cost-effective battery recycling technologies, so as to create material circularity and reduce the energy and environmental costs. A new&nbsp;study published in&nbsp;The Journal of the Indian Institute of Science&nbsp;highlighted the fact that lithium battery collection and recycling rates are far below those of traditional lead-acid batteries. While lack of recycling has been a non-critical issue when lithium batteries were limited to consumer electronics, the scale of the problem will grow exponentially as EV batteries reach their end of life. Given that only 1% of lithium batteries are currently recycled, compared with 90-99% of lead-acid batteries, the need to develop viable recycling processes and operations provides substantial opportunities for first movers. Taking cue is Singapore-based&nbsp;Green Li-ion, a maker of hydrometallurgical systems to recycle lithium-ion batteries. It recently announced the completion of a funding round from multiple investors and seeks to set up its first large-scale system in the U.S., as well as other projects based on memoranda of understanding (MoUs) signed recently for additional systems. Similarly,&nbsp;Stena Recycling&nbsp;of Sweden started construction of its new battery recycling plant in Halmstad, plans for which were announced in July 2021. The company expects the plant to be up and running in the first quarter of 2023.
Auto companies continue to partner for battery production. Meanwhile,&nbsp;Volkswagen and Robert Bosch&nbsp;plan to set up a joint venture by the end of this year to equip battery cell factories, and help make Europe self-sufficient in battery production. The new venture will deliver battery production systems as well as assist battery cell manufacturers in scaling up and maintaining their production sites. Europe has aggressive goals for turning itself into an EV mecca. Accordingly, various companies plan to build cell factories with a total annual capacity of around 700 gigawatt-hours by 2030. VW alone plans to build six such factories with annual capacity of 240 GWh by 2030. Obviously, such rapid expansion of production will be facilitated by standardizing processes and technologies, which is the aim of the proposed JV.
Automotive &amp; Transportation
It will get better eventually. According to AutoForecast Solutions, the global automotive industry has lost 10.8 million vehicles to production disruptions, courtesy the semiconductor shortages that began in 2021. The firm estimates that so far this year, lack of chips impacted production of 370K units—or, close to 4.5 million on an annualized basis. Demand remains strong, but supply is still limited because it takes 1-2 years to build, validate and ramp up commercial production of a new semiconductor fab. Consequently, while chip manufacturers expect better supply situation in 2022 compared with 2021,&nbsp;the improvements in availability will be back-end loaded, a sentiment echoed by VW’s head of procurement. Given the tough March-May 2021 production and sales comps, 1H22 may be a bumpy period for automotive industry suppliers, including plastics and composites, adhesives, sealants, and coatings. PPG, AXTA, AVNT, HXL and FUL may be particularly exposed among the stocks in our index.
As if chip shortage wasn’t enough. Confirming the previous cautious outlook, Ford recently&nbsp;announced that it plans&nbsp;to suspend, or cut, production at eight assembly plants in the U.S., Mexico and Canada throughout next week because of microchip supply constraints. The company expects its 1Q22 production to be down vs. year-ago period. Further complicating forecasting and production is the ongoing protest of Canadian truckers and the impact that is having on parts availability from Canada. Again, Ford blamed at least&nbsp;one plant shutdown&nbsp;decision on lack of parts from Canada. While the&nbsp;European automotive market is expected to grow 8%&nbsp;in 2022 vs. 2021, we suspect much of that growth will occur in 2H22. Even if these forecasts prove correct, production levels in 2022 will still be 20% below 2019, suggesting that suppliers to the auto industry may not fully recover until sometime in 2023, or even 2024. Meantime, Toyota once again&nbsp;cut its production outlook&nbsp;for the remainder of its fiscal year (FY end Mar-22) and expects chip shortages and COVID-19-related shutdowns to result in a production loss of 480K vehicles in the Mar-Q.
Ag-Chem and Ag-Tech
All eyes on LATAM. Drought in Latin America—from Brazil to Argentina to Paraguay—is reducing expectations for corn and soy harvests in the region during the 2021-22 harvest season. The&nbsp;USDA recently cut&nbsp;its yield and production estimates for the region, as well as its global tonnage forecasts, because of deteriorating weather conditions. Private&nbsp;forecasters went even further, cutting Brazilian soy production outlook to below the 130 million ton threshold. Yields are notoriously difficult to forecast, as the North American market proved in 2021. It is possible that the situation in LATAM&nbsp;may not turn out to be as dire&nbsp;as it currently looks. However, one thing is clear—lower production out of LATAM will positively impact demand for U.S. crops and thus, commodity crop prices. This should allow U.S. farmers to afford significantly higher input costs, particularly those for ag-chems and fertilizers. Given higher expectations for crop prices, farmer income in 2022 may be sufficient to create strong demand for pesticides and fertilizers—and solid financial conditions—as the market comes out of 2022. That would be a positive for ag-chem companies such as FMC and CTVA, as well as fertilizer companies such as CF. Furthermore, positive end-market conditions may persist into 2023, as drought often leads to increased pest pressures,&nbsp;driving demand for rescue insecticides&nbsp;during the season, and helping to clear out previous backlog in the distribution channel. That augurs well for demand and pricing in 2023.
Rating and Price Target Changes
AVNT&nbsp;– Citigroup reduced its price target (PT) to $63 from $68, but reiterated its Buy recommendation.
CMP&nbsp;– JP Morgan downgraded to Underweight from Neutral, and reduced its PT to $52 from $57.
EAF&nbsp;– RBC lowered its PT to $13 from $14 and reiterated its Outperform rating.
FMC – Mizuho Securities raised its PT to $136 from $126 and reiterated its Buy&nbsp; recommendation; Wells Fargo raised its PT to $130 from $123 and reiterated Outperform; Monness Crespi raised its PT to $130 from $126 and reiterated its Buy rating; Morgan Stanley raised its PT to $125 from $115 and maintained its Equal Weight rating.
FUL&nbsp;– Berenberg Bank raised its PT to $85 from $81 and reiterated its Buy rating.
MTX&nbsp;– JP Morgan upgraded to Overweight from Neutral, while reducing its PT to $75 from $80; CL King also lowered its PT to $87 from $90, but reiterated its Buy recommendation.
SHW&nbsp;– Evercore ISI raised its PT to $325 from $320 and reiterated its Outperform rating.
DISCLOSURES
Water Tower Research (“WTR”) is a professional publisher of investment research reports on public companies and, to a lesser extent, private firms (“the Companies”). WTR provides investor-focused content and digital distribution strategies designed to help companies communicate with investors.  WTR is not a registered investment adviser or a broker/dealer nor does WTR provide investment banking services. WTR operates as an exempt investment adviser under the so called “publishers’ exemption” from the definition of investment adviser under Section 202(a)(11) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. WTR does not provide investment ratings / recommendations or price targets on the companies it reports on. Readers are advised that the research reports are published and provided solely for informational purposes and should not be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities or the rendering of investment advice. The information provided in this report should not be construed in any manner whatsoever as personalized advice. All users and readers of WTR’s reports are cautioned to consult their own independent financial, tax and legal advisors prior to purchasing or selling securities.  Dmitry Silversteyn, who is the writer of this report, covers the Chemicals &amp; Materials Technology and BioEconomy sectors for WTR. Mr. Silversteyn and members of his household have no personal or business-related relationship to the subject company other than providing digital content and any ancillary services WTR may offer.  Unless otherwise indicated, WTR intends to provide continuing coverage of the covered companies. WTR will notify its readers through website postings or other appropriate means if WTR determines to terminate coverage of any of the companies covered.  In certain instances, including this report, WTR will write research covering non-clients. Readers should assume that WTR may seek to turn these non-paying companies into paying clients. Likewise, WTR may seek to transform these non-clients into paying clients of it or of its affiliate, which provides services such as presenting at sponsored investor conferences, distributing press releases, advising on investor relations and broader corporate communications and public relations strategies as well as performing certain other related services (“Ancillary Services”). The companies that WTR covers in our research are not required to purchase or use Ancillary Services of WTR or an affiliate might offer to clients.  The manner of WTR’s potential research compensation and Ancillary Services to covered companies raise actual and perceived conflicts of interest. WTR is committed to manage those conflicts to protect its reputation and the objectivity of employees/analysts by adhering to strictly written compliance guidelines.  The views and analyses included in our research reports are based on current public information that we consider to be reliable, but no representation or warranty, expressed or implied, is made as to their accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or correctness. Neither we nor our analysts, directors, officers, employees, representatives, independent contractors or agents shall be liable for any omissions, errors or inaccuracies, regardless of cause, foreseeability or the lack of timeliness of, or any delay or interruptions in the transmission of our reports to content users. This lack of liability extends to direct, indirect, incidental, exemplary, compensatory, punitive, special or consequential damages, costs, expenses, legal fees, losses, lost income, lost profit or opportunity costs.  All investment information contained herein should be independently verified by the reader or user of this report. For additional information, all readers of this report are encouraged to visit WTR’s website www.watertowerresearch.com.

Mat-Chem Notes for the Week Ended February 13, 2022