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)

<h3>KEY HIGHLIGHTS</h3>
<div></div>
<ul>
<li>WTR-CMI last week.&nbsp;The markets reversed their direction last week, with both the S&amp;P 500 and Russell 2000 declining 3.3% and 2.5%, respectively. Our WTR-CMI index lost a more modest 1.1% of its value and continued to outperform the broader markets, despite a 17% drop in AVNT on disappointing guidance. The weaker outlook was also behind MTRN’s 16% loss and ECL’s 14.6% loss. NVGT, KOP, and FMC saw their stocks improve 12.2%, 10.3%, and 5.5%, respectively, on better guidance.</li>
<li>Auto build recovery continues, driven by NEVs.&nbsp;Major European economies saw accelerating Y/Y growth off easier year-ago comps in October, with both France and&nbsp;Germany&nbsp;posting double-digit gains. While sales of ICE and diesel vehicles in Europe declined 3-4% Y/Y in 3Q22, BEV sales grew 22%, as did hybrid vehicle sales (up 7%),&nbsp;with new energy vehicles (NEVs) representing 43% of new vehicles sold in the quarter. Despite Y/Y growth reemerging over the last two to three months, semiconductor shortages continue to affect the OEMs’ abilities to meet demand, a situation that is expected to persist into 2023, causing us to remain cautious on companies in our index with high exposure to autos and transportation, including PPG, AXTA, AVNT, FUL, and HXL among others.</li>
<li>AVD finds another biologics partner.&nbsp;AVD continues to expand its capabilities in bio-based crop inputs by&nbsp;partnering with NewLeaf Symbiotics, a private company with a proprietary microbial library and a commercial soil inoculant.</li>
<li>LAC to split.&nbsp;LAC announced it will split into two companies—one focused on developing its Argentinian lithium resources, while the other will continue to concentrate on developing its Nevada reserves, allowing for more efficient capital deployment and decoupling of the Nevada project from earlier-stage LATAM operations.</li>
<li>Paints &amp; coatings market growth projected.&nbsp;Despite the weak automotive market and signs of trouble in several construction markets, the paints &amp; coatings industry is still projected to grow at a healthy 7.6% CAGR (2021-2027), according to a Research and Markets report. SHW and RPM appear most likely to benefit from this growth, with PPG and AXTA possibly being longer-term plays once automotive headwinds subside.</li>
</ul>
<h3>WTR-CMI WEEKLY PERFORMANCE</h3>
<figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/308/410/original/image_83389467661667954181693.png?1667954183" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="308410"></figure>
<div class="content-remarks">
<p>Source: YCharts as of November 4 close</p>
</div>
<h2>Ag-Tech and Bio-Ag</h2>
<p>Some good news for farmers.&nbsp;Driven by slower-than-expected sales ahead of the 2022-23 planting season, higher potash inventories have led to declining potash prices recently, causing Nutrien (NYSE: NTR) to&nbsp;lower its 4Q22 outlook. While demand for next year is expected to recover from end of season weakness, as Belarusian and Russian potash exports decline from 2021 levels and inventory overhang is depleted, US and LATAM farmers may have a chance to lock in lower fertilizer prices in the current environment. Higher energy prices are continuing to support higher nitrogen fertilizer prices heading into the new crop season. However, these same prices are providing a strong incentive for looking at, if not adopting, new innovative technologies. One such promising technology is&nbsp;on-site production of nitrogen, with lower CO2 emissions versus conventional production, lower transportation-related environmental costs, and lower energy costs due to the employment of renewable energy sources, such as photovoltaic panels.</p>
<p>Drought takes a bite out of winter wheat.&nbsp;With 75% of winter wheat acres in the US experiencing some level of drought, the USDA’s first crop rating of the season came in at only 28% of the crop rated good to excellent, with 35% rated poor to very poor. The last time they were this low was in the drought year of 2012 at 40% of the crop rated good to excellent. With the expected decline in wheat exports from Russia and Ukraine this year and uncertainty over Ukraine’s harvest next year, wheat production is taking on added importance, with the domestic winter wheat harvest being an important bridge to next year’s LATAM and EMEA harvests. The impact of drought on crop performance and expectations that drought conditions may be a longer-term phenomenon, adoption of drought-resistant seeds, such as HB4 seeds being marketed by Bioceres (NASDAQ: BIOX), may accelerate and expand to other geographies, which should help BIOX continue to outperform expectations, as it integrates the recently acquired Marrone Bio Solutions. Speaking of Ukraine, the country’s government is&nbsp;planning to revamp its legislation around GMOs, which it currently prohibits planting, but which are nonetheless being used by farmers, with crops sold on the black market. While it’s not clear if new legislations will bolster enforcement of the ban, modify, or remove it, given the abundance of new scientific evidence on the efficacy of GMOs that has been generated since the 2007 ban was originally implemented, opening the Ukrainian market to GMO wheat and corn may be a real possibility, which would be a positive for seed companies, such as CTVA, and wheat seed experts like BIOX.</p>
<h2>Energy Technology &amp; Battery Technology</h2>
<p>Price and supply dynamics in rare earths look a little different from other new energy critical materials.&nbsp;Rare earth mineral demand is rapidly evolving as the market shifts from one driven by hard disk drives, optical disc drives, consumer electronics, automotive micromotors, sensors, and loudspeakers to one driven by EV motors, wind power generators, and other energy-efficient motors, pumps, and compressors. As demand accelerates, prices are going up to previously unseen levels, given that the rare earth market, like so many others, is&nbsp;dominated by China, whose mining and production infrastructure appear inadequate to meet the expected demand. As with other metals and materials whose demand inflected as a result of growth of alternate energy infrastructure, new sources of rare earths are being sought. Japan, whose semiconductor industry has in the past been held hostage to Chinese political machinations, is actively exploring the possibility of&nbsp;exploiting undersea rare earth deposits&nbsp;off the coast of its Ogasawara Islands, with active work beginning next April and potential production in five years. While one government is looking to explore all possible avenues to bridge the expected supply gap in energy-critical materials, despite these operations closely mimicking onshore mining practices, with potentially sizable environmental impact, another deep-sea mining technology, which involves the collection of polymetallic nodules off an ocean floor and appears to result in significantly lower environmental impact, is being opposed by another government (Germany) on the grounds of insufficient data related to the ocean floor environmental impact. The two cases exemplify the current state of affairs in the global energy transformation trend, with one government pragmatically approaching the reality of supply and demand and another government acting out a self-contradictory political agenda.</p>
<p>Chinese dominance will take years and billions to overcome.&nbsp;Despite lacking its own natural resources from lithium to nickel to graphite, China has emerged over the last 10 years as a dominant processor of these metals and minerals into products required by the battery and alternative energy industries, thereby coming to dominate the new energy supply chain, in a way OPEC+ could only dream of. Fortunately, the world is waking up to the fact of its dependence on an authoritarian and expansionist regime for the economic transition that global governments want to drive in the name of climate change. Unfortunately,&nbsp;it will be years&nbsp;before this dominance is reduced to acceptable levels, as despite billions of dollars being allocated to developing domestic supply chains by both governments and private enterprise, self-contradictory government policies, such as permitting and environmental regulations around mining and production, and activist lawsuits are both delaying and increasing the cost of establishing alternative sources of critical materials in sufficient quantities to materially change the balance of market power when it comes to regional production.</p>
<p>Copper joins the list of metals about to experience a supply gap.&nbsp;While we often talked about the frenzied pace of exploration and development of new lithium supplies, as well as those of graphite, cobalt, and nickel, a widely used industrial metal like copper seemed to be in a better position when it comes to meeting the anticipated increase in demand as the world continues to shift toward electric motors and renewable energy generation. However, as a&nbsp;recent report&nbsp;pointed out, the reality may be much different, as the pending copper supply shortage may be difficult to address, given historically low permitting and approvals of new mine projects and insufficient capital investments being made by industry participants to expand production beyond current levels.</p>
<h2>Chemicals &amp; Materials</h2>
<p>Commodity prices and demand.&nbsp;Plastic resin prices, such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), appear to be&nbsp;settling after declines off mid-year peaks, suggesting that further easing of raw material costs for companies such as AVNT may have to wait for further economic slowdown, suggesting AVNT’s margins may not recover as rapidly as hoped for, without additional pricing actions, which would be difficult to realize in a slowing demand environment. As petrochemical raw materials used by other companies in our index, such as resins for paints, coatings, adhesives and sealants, surfactants, lubricants, as well as other intermediates, tend to track commodity resin prices, similar caution may be warranted—Y/Y margin compression may persist well into 2023 and lower margins tend to drive lower valuation multiples of companies in our space, despite growth in sales or profit dollars. Slowing economic activity is also&nbsp;affecting the steel market, where volumes continue to decline Y/Y. This trend may accelerate over the next three to six months as Europe and possibly North America enter a full-fledged recession with the accompanying destruction of economic activity. This would be a negative for companies such as EAF and MTX, who supply consumables into the global steel making industry.</p>
<h2>Rating and Price Target Changes</h2>
<p>ALB –&nbsp;Credit Suisse raised its price target (PT) to $200 from $196 but reiterated its Underperform rating; UBS lowered its PT to $297 from $308 and maintained its Neutral rating; CFRA raised its PT to $308 from $295 and reiterated its Buy recommendation.</p>
<p>AVNT –&nbsp;Deutsche Bank lowered its PT to $35 from $40 and reiterated its Buy recommendation.</p>
<p>CTVA –&nbsp;Credit Suisse raised its PT to $74 from $72 and reiterated its Outperform rating; CFRA raised its PT to $70 from $61 but maintained its Hold rating.</p>
<p>ECL –&nbsp;CFRA lowered its PT to $158 from $160 but upgraded the stock from Sell to Hold; Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy and lowered its PT to $135 from $165; Mizuho Securities lowered its PT to $158 from $178 and maintained its Neutral rating.</p>
<p>EMN –&nbsp;Mizuho Securities lowered its PT to $88 from $91 and maintained its Neutral rating; KeyBank lowered its PT to $98 from $111 and reiterated its Overweight rating.</p>
<p>FMC –&nbsp;UBS raised its PT to $142 from $140 and reiterated its Buy rating; Credit Suisse raised its PT to $112 from $105 and reiterated its Underperform rating; CFRA raised its PT to $125 from $120 and maintained its Hold rating; KeyBank raised its PT to $139 from $122 and reiterated its Overweight rating; RBC raised its PT to $135 from $133 and reiterated its Outperform rating.</p>
<p>HXL –&nbsp;BMO lowered its PT to $61 from $66 and maintained its Market Perform rating.</p>
<p>LTHM –&nbsp;CFRA lowered its PT to $31 from $33 and maintained its Hold rating; Deutsche Bank raised its PT to $30 from $27 and maintained its Hold recommendation.</p>
<p>MTRN –&nbsp;KeyBank lowered its PT to $90 from $94 and reiterated its Overweight recommendation.</p>
<h2>Recent Reports and Future Events</h2>
<p>TMC the metals company, Inc. (TMC) – Fireside Chat: Chairman &amp; CEO Gerard Barron and CFO Craig Shesky, November 16, 2022, at 10:00 am EST</p>
<p>TMC the metals company, Inc. (TMC) – Initiation of Coverage – Tapping Untapped Resource to Address Unmet Need</p>
<p>Westwater Resources, Inc. (WWR) – Company Update Report – Steady Progress Deserves a Closer Look</p>
<h3>DISCLOSURES</h3>
<div></div>
<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 BioEconomy and Chemicals &amp; Materials Technology 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.&nbsp;The markets reversed their direction last week, with both the S&amp;P 500 and Russell 2000 declining 3.3% and 2.5%, respectively. Our WTR-CMI index lost a more modest 1.1% of its value and continued to outperform the broader markets, despite a 17% drop in AVNT on disappointing guidance. The weaker outlook was also behind MTRN’s 16% loss and ECL’s 14.6% loss. NVGT, KOP, and FMC saw their stocks improve 12.2%, 10.3%, and 5.5%, respectively, on better guidance.
Auto build recovery continues, driven by NEVs.&nbsp;Major European economies saw accelerating Y/Y growth off easier year-ago comps in October, with both France and&nbsp;Germany&nbsp;posting double-digit gains. While sales of ICE and diesel vehicles in Europe declined 3-4% Y/Y in 3Q22, BEV sales grew 22%, as did hybrid vehicle sales (up 7%),&nbsp;with new energy vehicles (NEVs) representing 43% of new vehicles sold in the quarter. Despite Y/Y growth reemerging over the last two to three months, semiconductor shortages continue to affect the OEMs’ abilities to meet demand, a situation that is expected to persist into 2023, causing us to remain cautious on companies in our index with high exposure to autos and transportation, including PPG, AXTA, AVNT, FUL, and HXL among others.
AVD finds another biologics partner.&nbsp;AVD continues to expand its capabilities in bio-based crop inputs by&nbsp;partnering with NewLeaf Symbiotics, a private company with a proprietary microbial library and a commercial soil inoculant.
LAC to split.&nbsp;LAC announced it will split into two companies—one focused on developing its Argentinian lithium resources, while the other will continue to concentrate on developing its Nevada reserves, allowing for more efficient capital deployment and decoupling of the Nevada project from earlier-stage LATAM operations.
Paints &amp; coatings market growth projected.&nbsp;Despite the weak automotive market and signs of trouble in several construction markets, the paints &amp; coatings industry is still projected to grow at a healthy 7.6% CAGR (2021-2027), according to a Research and Markets report. SHW and RPM appear most likely to benefit from this growth, with PPG and AXTA possibly being longer-term plays once automotive headwinds subside.

WTR-CMI WEEKLY PERFORMANCE


Source: YCharts as of November 4 close

Ag-Tech and Bio-Ag
Some good news for farmers.&nbsp;Driven by slower-than-expected sales ahead of the 2022-23 planting season, higher potash inventories have led to declining potash prices recently, causing Nutrien (NYSE: NTR) to&nbsp;lower its 4Q22 outlook. While demand for next year is expected to recover from end of season weakness, as Belarusian and Russian potash exports decline from 2021 levels and inventory overhang is depleted, US and LATAM farmers may have a chance to lock in lower fertilizer prices in the current environment. Higher energy prices are continuing to support higher nitrogen fertilizer prices heading into the new crop season. However, these same prices are providing a strong incentive for looking at, if not adopting, new innovative technologies. One such promising technology is&nbsp;on-site production of nitrogen, with lower CO2 emissions versus conventional production, lower transportation-related environmental costs, and lower energy costs due to the employment of renewable energy sources, such as photovoltaic panels.
Drought takes a bite out of winter wheat.&nbsp;With 75% of winter wheat acres in the US experiencing some level of drought, the USDA’s first crop rating of the season came in at only 28% of the crop rated good to excellent, with 35% rated poor to very poor. The last time they were this low was in the drought year of 2012 at 40% of the crop rated good to excellent. With the expected decline in wheat exports from Russia and Ukraine this year and uncertainty over Ukraine’s harvest next year, wheat production is taking on added importance, with the domestic winter wheat harvest being an important bridge to next year’s LATAM and EMEA harvests. The impact of drought on crop performance and expectations that drought conditions may be a longer-term phenomenon, adoption of drought-resistant seeds, such as HB4 seeds being marketed by Bioceres (NASDAQ: BIOX), may accelerate and expand to other geographies, which should help BIOX continue to outperform expectations, as it integrates the recently acquired Marrone Bio Solutions. Speaking of Ukraine, the country’s government is&nbsp;planning to revamp its legislation around GMOs, which it currently prohibits planting, but which are nonetheless being used by farmers, with crops sold on the black market. While it’s not clear if new legislations will bolster enforcement of the ban, modify, or remove it, given the abundance of new scientific evidence on the efficacy of GMOs that has been generated since the 2007 ban was originally implemented, opening the Ukrainian market to GMO wheat and corn may be a real possibility, which would be a positive for seed companies, such as CTVA, and wheat seed experts like BIOX.
Energy Technology &amp; Battery Technology
Price and supply dynamics in rare earths look a little different from other new energy critical materials.&nbsp;Rare earth mineral demand is rapidly evolving as the market shifts from one driven by hard disk drives, optical disc drives, consumer electronics, automotive micromotors, sensors, and loudspeakers to one driven by EV motors, wind power generators, and other energy-efficient motors, pumps, and compressors. As demand accelerates, prices are going up to previously unseen levels, given that the rare earth market, like so many others, is&nbsp;dominated by China, whose mining and production infrastructure appear inadequate to meet the expected demand. As with other metals and materials whose demand inflected as a result of growth of alternate energy infrastructure, new sources of rare earths are being sought. Japan, whose semiconductor industry has in the past been held hostage to Chinese political machinations, is actively exploring the possibility of&nbsp;exploiting undersea rare earth deposits&nbsp;off the coast of its Ogasawara Islands, with active work beginning next April and potential production in five years. While one government is looking to explore all possible avenues to bridge the expected supply gap in energy-critical materials, despite these operations closely mimicking onshore mining practices, with potentially sizable environmental impact, another deep-sea mining technology, which involves the collection of polymetallic nodules off an ocean floor and appears to result in significantly lower environmental impact, is being opposed by another government (Germany) on the grounds of insufficient data related to the ocean floor environmental impact. The two cases exemplify the current state of affairs in the global energy transformation trend, with one government pragmatically approaching the reality of supply and demand and another government acting out a self-contradictory political agenda.
Chinese dominance will take years and billions to overcome.&nbsp;Despite lacking its own natural resources from lithium to nickel to graphite, China has emerged over the last 10 years as a dominant processor of these metals and minerals into products required by the battery and alternative energy industries, thereby coming to dominate the new energy supply chain, in a way OPEC+ could only dream of. Fortunately, the world is waking up to the fact of its dependence on an authoritarian and expansionist regime for the economic transition that global governments want to drive in the name of climate change. Unfortunately,&nbsp;it will be years&nbsp;before this dominance is reduced to acceptable levels, as despite billions of dollars being allocated to developing domestic supply chains by both governments and private enterprise, self-contradictory government policies, such as permitting and environmental regulations around mining and production, and activist lawsuits are both delaying and increasing the cost of establishing alternative sources of critical materials in sufficient quantities to materially change the balance of market power when it comes to regional production.
Copper joins the list of metals about to experience a supply gap.&nbsp;While we often talked about the frenzied pace of exploration and development of new lithium supplies, as well as those of graphite, cobalt, and nickel, a widely used industrial metal like copper seemed to be in a better position when it comes to meeting the anticipated increase in demand as the world continues to shift toward electric motors and renewable energy generation. However, as a&nbsp;recent report&nbsp;pointed out, the reality may be much different, as the pending copper supply shortage may be difficult to address, given historically low permitting and approvals of new mine projects and insufficient capital investments being made by industry participants to expand production beyond current levels.
Chemicals &amp; Materials
Commodity prices and demand.&nbsp;Plastic resin prices, such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), appear to be&nbsp;settling after declines off mid-year peaks, suggesting that further easing of raw material costs for companies such as AVNT may have to wait for further economic slowdown, suggesting AVNT’s margins may not recover as rapidly as hoped for, without additional pricing actions, which would be difficult to realize in a slowing demand environment. As petrochemical raw materials used by other companies in our index, such as resins for paints, coatings, adhesives and sealants, surfactants, lubricants, as well as other intermediates, tend to track commodity resin prices, similar caution may be warranted—Y/Y margin compression may persist well into 2023 and lower margins tend to drive lower valuation multiples of companies in our space, despite growth in sales or profit dollars. Slowing economic activity is also&nbsp;affecting the steel market, where volumes continue to decline Y/Y. This trend may accelerate over the next three to six months as Europe and possibly North America enter a full-fledged recession with the accompanying destruction of economic activity. This would be a negative for companies such as EAF and MTX, who supply consumables into the global steel making industry.
Rating and Price Target Changes
ALB –&nbsp;Credit Suisse raised its price target (PT) to $200 from $196 but reiterated its Underperform rating; UBS lowered its PT to $297 from $308 and maintained its Neutral rating; CFRA raised its PT to $308 from $295 and reiterated its Buy recommendation.
AVNT –&nbsp;Deutsche Bank lowered its PT to $35 from $40 and reiterated its Buy recommendation.
CTVA –&nbsp;Credit Suisse raised its PT to $74 from $72 and reiterated its Outperform rating; CFRA raised its PT to $70 from $61 but maintained its Hold rating.
ECL –&nbsp;CFRA lowered its PT to $158 from $160 but upgraded the stock from Sell to Hold; Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy and lowered its PT to $135 from $165; Mizuho Securities lowered its PT to $158 from $178 and maintained its Neutral rating.
EMN –&nbsp;Mizuho Securities lowered its PT to $88 from $91 and maintained its Neutral rating; KeyBank lowered its PT to $98 from $111 and reiterated its Overweight rating.
FMC –&nbsp;UBS raised its PT to $142 from $140 and reiterated its Buy rating; Credit Suisse raised its PT to $112 from $105 and reiterated its Underperform rating; CFRA raised its PT to $125 from $120 and maintained its Hold rating; KeyBank raised its PT to $139 from $122 and reiterated its Overweight rating; RBC raised its PT to $135 from $133 and reiterated its Outperform rating.
HXL –&nbsp;BMO lowered its PT to $61 from $66 and maintained its Market Perform rating.
LTHM –&nbsp;CFRA lowered its PT to $31 from $33 and maintained its Hold rating; Deutsche Bank raised its PT to $30 from $27 and maintained its Hold recommendation.
MTRN –&nbsp;KeyBank lowered its PT to $90 from $94 and reiterated its Overweight recommendation.
Recent Reports and Future Events
TMC the metals company, Inc. (TMC) – Fireside Chat: Chairman &amp; CEO Gerard Barron and CFO Craig Shesky, November 16, 2022, at 10:00 am EST
TMC the metals company, Inc. (TMC) – Initiation of Coverage – Tapping Untapped Resource to Address Unmet Need
Westwater Resources, Inc. (WWR) – Company Update Report – Steady Progress Deserves a Closer Look
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 BioEconomy and Chemicals &amp; Materials Technology 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 November 4, 2022