Wells Fargo says investors should buy shares of Alcoa as aluminum prices continue to rise. Analyst Timna Tanners upgraded aluminum mining and aluminum smelting to overweight from equal weight. Their price target of $70 (from $67) implies an upside of 10.7% from Wednesday’s close. Alcoa shares have outperformed in 2026, rising 19%. That’s well above the S&P 500’s gain of 7.6% at the time. However, Tanners believes the strength of the aluminum market is being “underestimated” by investors. AA YTD Mountain AA in 2026 “Our upgrade reflects the belief that aluminum prices are stable and can exceed our forecasts. We also see catalysts from monetization of idle assets for data center conversion as mgmt has noted several deals in the works as well as news on capital deployment on strong earnings,” it wrote to clients. Aluminum futures are up more than 15.5% year-to-date and are up more than 50% in the past 12 months. Gains were compounded as the US-Iran war put upward pressure on prices and demand. “Our ‘overweight’ rating reflects the view that with limited global capacity additions and low global inventories, aluminum price strength can continue well into 2027E,” Tanners said. The analyst added that a potential divestiture of Alcoa’s Massena East site could also provide a boost to shares. Analysts are somewhat split on the stock. LSEG data shows eight analysts covering Alcoa, rate it as a “buy” or “strong buy.” However, the remaining seven assigned stocks maintain their stock ratings or underperform.
