Bank of America Merrill Lynch Maintains Buy on Albemarle

Bank of America Merrill Lynch is out with its report today on Albemarle ALB, maintaining Buy. In a note to clients, Bank of America Merrill Lynch writes, "We are attracted to long-term volume growth in HPC, polyolefin, and biodiesel catalysts. Cyclical recovery and structural improvements in bromine and derivatives support selling price increases. Primary risks are raw material cost inflation and potential for cyclical demand pressure among polymer additives. Our PO of $79 implies shares merit 15.8x our 2012 EPS estimate of $5.00." At the time of posting, shares of ALB were trading pre-market at $69.10, down 1.16% from Thursday's close.