One EV-related exchange-traded fund just had its best week in nearly a year, and also outperformed in January – soaring 20.66%. The Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF was up nearly 8% last week – its best week since March 2022, according to CNBC analysis. It also marked the fund’s fourth straight weekly gain. That’s a turnaround from its roughly-30% loss in 2022. EV makers in the ETF, such as Tesla , BYD and Lucid , led the gains this year, jumping 40%, 27% and 71% respectively in January. Lithium and EV battery producers, such as Albemarle and CATL , also did well, soaring 30% and 18% respectively. Lithium is a critical component of electric vehicle batteries. Automakers have been in the spotlight this month, with Tesla slashing prices to boost demand and Ford following suit . Analysts say Tesla’s price cuts could spur an EV pricing war . Using FactSet, CNBC Pro screened the Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF for stocks that analysts say have potential upside of at least 10%, on average, and buy ratings from over 40% of analysts covering them. These 10 stocks turned up on the screen. EV makers Rivian , Lucid and Tesla made the list. Analysts give all three significant potential upside, according to Factset. Rivian shares are seen rising by 100% over the next 12 months on average, while Tesla has 13% upside, and Lucid has 18% potential upside, according to analysts. Lucid shares have already jumped over 70% so far this year. On Friday alone it surged 43% amid market speculation that Saudi’s Public Investment Fund wanted to buy out the company. Bank of America in a Jan. 30 note said that Lucid “is one of the most attractive among the universe of start-up electric vehicle (EV) automakers and also a relative competitive threat.” “We believe LCID currently has more pieces of the puzzle in place and in process than most of its peers which, steered by a management team with impressive experience, should push the company more successfully from concept to commercialization,” said the bank’s analysts. Analysts are also bullish on Warren Buffett-backed Chinese EV maker BYD, giving it 36% upside potential. Over 75% have a buy rating on the stock, which has already climbed 27% in January. Battery makers Freyr and Enovix Corporation stood out for having the biggest potential upside, at 108% and 285% respectively. Both are also popular among analysts, with Enovix the only company on the list to have a 100% buy rating from analysts. Goldman in a recent note said that U.S.-listed Freyr has the biggest upside potential among EV-related stocks after the company announced plans to expand in the U.S. — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
