Analysts pointed out that the current supply of upstream cobalt ore is basically locked by middle and downstream processing companies, and there is less cobalt that can be circulated in the market, and the industry's supply and demand structure is still in a tight balance. After nearly 2 months of adjustment, the valuation of the cobalt sector has returned to a reasonable range again, and the investment value has appeared.

　　The non-ferrous metal index led the two markets recently, mainly driven by the strengthening of the lithium battery sector, especially the cobalt concept stocks. Analysts pointed out that the current supply of upstream cobalt ore is basically locked by middle and downstream processing companies, and there is less cobalt that can be circulated in the market, and the industry's supply and demand structure is still in a tight balance. After nearly 2 months of adjustment, the valuation of the cobalt sector has returned to a reasonable range again, and the investment value has appeared.

　　The market share of leading companies increases

　　2017 is a year of intensified competition in the midstream of lithium batteries. The overall price of the industry except for cathode materials has fallen, but the shipments of leading companies have increased significantly, and the market share has gradually increased.

　　In 2017, the shipments of power lithium batteries increased by more than 30%, and the shipments of leading companies such as Ningde Times, Guoxuan High-tech, and Yiwei Lithium Energy increased by more than 50%. However, due to the decline in prices, there was a situation of incremental but no profit. Judging from the situation in the first quarter of 2018, this situation is still continuing.

　　Ternary cathode shipments grew by 56%. With the increase in raw material prices, especially the increase in cobalt prices, cathode material companies generally achieved both volume and price increases. The performance of Dangsheng Technology and Shanshan shares doubled. Judging from the 2018 quarterly report, the situation of rising volume and price is also continuing.

　　For the diaphragm industry, 2017 is also a year of extremely fierce price wars, especially for dry-process diaphragms, where price wars are more intense. However, leading companies in wet-process diaphragm companies have achieved rapid growth by virtue of their performance advantages to seize market opportunities. The volume of goods has more than doubled growth, and the performance is also extremely bright.

　　In this regard, Guotai Junan analysts said that the downstream demand for power lithium batteries was strong in 2017, and the overall shipments of lithium batteries and lithium battery materials industries were considerable, but competition intensified. In 2018, the overall trend of competition will continue to intensify, but leading companies rely on technology and cost. Advantages will further increase market share.

　　Layout cobalt plate

　　The hottest in the new energy automobile industry is lithium batteries, and the most dazzling non-cobalt in the lithium battery industry is none other than cobalt. The cobalt sector has risen first and then declined this year, showing a roller coaster trend. Combining industry fundamentals, how should we deal with the strong rebound of the cobalt sector?

　　Yangtze River Securities believes that as the third quarter peak season approaches, demand for lithium cobalt oxide is expected to be repaired month by month. In the field of power batteries, high nickel is difficult to reverse the high growth momentum of cobalt for power use from 2018 to 2025, and the promotion of high nickel itself requires a necessary process due to the safety and consistency of the battery. Based on good demand prospects and resource scarcity, we continue to be optimistic about the strategic increase of cobalt raw materials in the global new energy industry chain in 2018. Based on the above logic, the cobalt industry is expected to usher in a good layout opportunity in May.