SLI, AXTA and CENX are among materials movers
Gainers:
- Universal Stainless & Alloy (USAP) up by 15%.
- ioneer (IONR) up by 13%.
- ReTo Eco-Solutions (RETO) up by 11%.
- Standard Lithium (SLI) up by 9%.
- Axalta Coating Systems (AXTA) up by 8%.
Losers:
- LSB Industries (LXU) down by 10%.
- Century Aluminum (CENX) down by 9%.
- Dakota Gold (DC) down by 7%.
- Nature Wood Group (NWGL) down by 4%.
- SunCoke Energy (SXC) down by 6%.
More on Materials Sector:
- XLB Surges To The Sector-Performance Lead, More Upside Likely.
- 10 Materials stocks that beat Q1 earnings estimates this week.
- Albemarle remains the most heavily shorted materials stock in March.
- Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF.
- Dividend scorecard for Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF.
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Small-Cap Stocks Surge, Outperforming Large-Caps in 2026
- Small-Cap Recovery: Year-to-date in 2026, the iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR) has surged 10.9%, significantly outperforming the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) which only rose 1.4%, indicating a strong rebound in small-cap stocks after years of underperformance, likely attracting more investor interest in this segment.
- Leading Materials Stocks: Among small-cap materials stocks, LSB Industries (LXU) leads with a 19.23% price percentage above the 200-day simple moving average (DSMA), showcasing its strong market performance and potentially drawing more capital into the sector.
- Diverse Industry Performance: The top five small-cap materials stocks span various industries including chemicals, agricultural chemicals, and metals, indicating a broad recovery in small-cap stocks that may provide investors with diverse investment opportunities.
- Strong Ratings Support: Compass Minerals International (CMP) ranks sixth with a 13.40% premium and holds a Strong Buy rating of 4.70, reflecting market confidence in its future growth and potentially driving its stock price higher.
LSB Industries to Release Q4 and Full Year 2025 Financial Results
- Earnings Release Schedule: LSB Industries has announced that it will release its financial results for Q4 and the full year 2025 on February 25, 2026, after market close, indicating the company's commitment to transparency and investor communication.
- Conference Call Timing: The management will host a conference call on February 26, 2026, at 10:00 AM ET, featuring CEO Mark Behrman and CFO Cheryl Maguire, reflecting the leadership's focus on discussing financial outcomes.
- Participation Details: Interested investors can join the call by dialing (877) 407-6176 or (201) 689-8451, with a recommendation to call in 10 minutes early, ensuring timely and effective communication of important information.
- Webcast and Materials: The call will be available via webcast on LSB's website along with a slide presentation, allowing investors who cannot attend live to access the information later, thereby enhancing engagement between the company and its investors.
Mativ Holdings (MATV) Invests in Miru Smart Technologies to Accelerate eWindow Commercialization
- Collaboration Deepening: Mativ Holdings has deepened its collaboration with Miru Smart Technologies through a new equity investment aimed at accelerating the commercialization of Miru's dynamic electrochromic eWindow technology for automotive applications, transitioning the technology from validation to large-scale production.
- Production Goals: Under the strengthened partnership, Miru targets delivering 10 million square feet of eWindows by 2028, supported by Mativ's global extrusion capabilities and the integration of Argotec high-performance TPU films, ensuring compliance with stringent automotive durability and supply chain requirements.
- Technical Milestones: The companies have successfully developed one of the largest compound-curved electrochromic sunroofs in the industry and secured early commercial orders from leading glass manufacturers last year, highlighting the market potential and application prospects of their technology.
- Market Performance: MATV's shares have risen 27.2% over the past year, compared to a mere 0.1% increase in the industry, demonstrating the company's significant enhancement in technological integration capabilities and competitive strength in the electric vehicle and architectural sectors.
LSB Industries (LXU) Options Market Shows High Implied Volatility, Indicating Potential Stock Movement
- Options Market Volatility: The Mar 20, 2026 $17.50 Put for LSB Industries shows high implied volatility, indicating that the market anticipates significant stock price movement, potentially linked to an upcoming event that could influence trading strategies.
- Analyst Expectations Improve: Over the last 60 days, LSB Industries' earnings estimate has been raised from $0.09 to $0.18 per share, reflecting analysts' growing confidence in the company's future performance, despite its industry ranking being in the bottom 11%.
- Trading Strategy Impact: The high implied volatility of options attracts seasoned traders who often sell options to capture time decay, thereby reducing risk while enhancing potential returns in their trading strategies.
- Investor Attention: Currently ranked #1 (Strong Buy) by Zacks in the Chemical - Diversified industry, LSB Industries is attracting investor interest, suggesting that despite the overall industry underperformance, there is optimism about its future prospects, potentially leading to increased capital inflow.
Arkema and Semcorp Join Forces to Enhance Battery Separator Innovation
Strategic Partnership: Arkema S.A. (ARKAY) and Semcorp have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on battery-separator technologies, enhancing Semcorp's global expansion and innovation in high-performance battery separators for electric vehicles and energy storage systems.
Role of Battery Separators: Battery separators are crucial in lithium-ion batteries for ensuring electrical isolation between anode and cathode, impacting safety, performance, and longevity, with Arkema providing advanced materials to improve these aspects.
Market Position: Despite the partnership, Arkema's shares have declined 21.3% year-to-date, compared to a 26.2% decline in the industry, and the company holds a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Earnings Estimates: Other companies in the basic materials sector, such as LSB Industries, New Gold, and CSW Industrials, have better rankings and positive earnings estimates, indicating stronger performance potential compared to Arkema.
Significant Options Activity on Tuesday: WEN, ALAB, LXU
Astera Labs Options Trading: Astera Labs Inc (ALAB) experienced significant options trading with 44,015 contracts, equating to about 4.4 million underlying shares, which is 68.4% of its average daily trading volume. Notably, the $175 strike call option expiring on December 5, 2025, saw 2,817 contracts traded.
LSB Industries Options Activity: LSB Industries, Inc. (LXU) recorded a trading volume of 2,795 contracts, representing approximately 279,500 underlying shares, or 64.2% of its average daily trading volume. The $10 strike call option expiring on December 19, 2025, was particularly active with 2,687 contracts traded.
Options Trading Insights: The article provides insights into the options trading activities of ALAB and LXU, highlighting specific strike prices and expiration dates that have garnered attention from traders.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Nasdaq, Inc.
Small-Cap Stocks Surge, Outperforming Large-Caps in 2026
- Small-Cap Recovery: Year-to-date in 2026, the iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR) has surged 10.9%, significantly outperforming the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) which only rose 1.4%, indicating a strong rebound in small-cap stocks after years of underperformance, likely attracting more investor interest in this segment.
- Leading Materials Stocks: Among small-cap materials stocks, LSB Industries (LXU) leads with a 19.23% price percentage above the 200-day simple moving average (DSMA), showcasing its strong market performance and potentially drawing more capital into the sector.
- Diverse Industry Performance: The top five small-cap materials stocks span various industries including chemicals, agricultural chemicals, and metals, indicating a broad recovery in small-cap stocks that may provide investors with diverse investment opportunities.
- Strong Ratings Support: Compass Minerals International (CMP) ranks sixth with a 13.40% premium and holds a Strong Buy rating of 4.70, reflecting market confidence in its future growth and potentially driving its stock price higher.
LSB Industries to Release Q4 and Full Year 2025 Financial Results
- Earnings Release Schedule: LSB Industries has announced that it will release its financial results for Q4 and the full year 2025 on February 25, 2026, after market close, indicating the company's commitment to transparency and investor communication.
- Conference Call Timing: The management will host a conference call on February 26, 2026, at 10:00 AM ET, featuring CEO Mark Behrman and CFO Cheryl Maguire, reflecting the leadership's focus on discussing financial outcomes.
- Participation Details: Interested investors can join the call by dialing (877) 407-6176 or (201) 689-8451, with a recommendation to call in 10 minutes early, ensuring timely and effective communication of important information.
- Webcast and Materials: The call will be available via webcast on LSB's website along with a slide presentation, allowing investors who cannot attend live to access the information later, thereby enhancing engagement between the company and its investors.
Mativ Holdings (MATV) Invests in Miru Smart Technologies to Accelerate eWindow Commercialization
- Collaboration Deepening: Mativ Holdings has deepened its collaboration with Miru Smart Technologies through a new equity investment aimed at accelerating the commercialization of Miru's dynamic electrochromic eWindow technology for automotive applications, transitioning the technology from validation to large-scale production.
- Production Goals: Under the strengthened partnership, Miru targets delivering 10 million square feet of eWindows by 2028, supported by Mativ's global extrusion capabilities and the integration of Argotec high-performance TPU films, ensuring compliance with stringent automotive durability and supply chain requirements.
- Technical Milestones: The companies have successfully developed one of the largest compound-curved electrochromic sunroofs in the industry and secured early commercial orders from leading glass manufacturers last year, highlighting the market potential and application prospects of their technology.
- Market Performance: MATV's shares have risen 27.2% over the past year, compared to a mere 0.1% increase in the industry, demonstrating the company's significant enhancement in technological integration capabilities and competitive strength in the electric vehicle and architectural sectors.
LSB Industries (LXU) Options Market Shows High Implied Volatility, Indicating Potential Stock Movement
- Options Market Volatility: The Mar 20, 2026 $17.50 Put for LSB Industries shows high implied volatility, indicating that the market anticipates significant stock price movement, potentially linked to an upcoming event that could influence trading strategies.
- Analyst Expectations Improve: Over the last 60 days, LSB Industries' earnings estimate has been raised from $0.09 to $0.18 per share, reflecting analysts' growing confidence in the company's future performance, despite its industry ranking being in the bottom 11%.
- Trading Strategy Impact: The high implied volatility of options attracts seasoned traders who often sell options to capture time decay, thereby reducing risk while enhancing potential returns in their trading strategies.
- Investor Attention: Currently ranked #1 (Strong Buy) by Zacks in the Chemical - Diversified industry, LSB Industries is attracting investor interest, suggesting that despite the overall industry underperformance, there is optimism about its future prospects, potentially leading to increased capital inflow.
Arkema and Semcorp Join Forces to Enhance Battery Separator Innovation
Strategic Partnership: Arkema S.A. (ARKAY) and Semcorp have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on battery-separator technologies, enhancing Semcorp's global expansion and innovation in high-performance battery separators for electric vehicles and energy storage systems.
Role of Battery Separators: Battery separators are crucial in lithium-ion batteries for ensuring electrical isolation between anode and cathode, impacting safety, performance, and longevity, with Arkema providing advanced materials to improve these aspects.
Market Position: Despite the partnership, Arkema's shares have declined 21.3% year-to-date, compared to a 26.2% decline in the industry, and the company holds a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Earnings Estimates: Other companies in the basic materials sector, such as LSB Industries, New Gold, and CSW Industrials, have better rankings and positive earnings estimates, indicating stronger performance potential compared to Arkema.
Significant Options Activity on Tuesday: WEN, ALAB, LXU
Astera Labs Options Trading: Astera Labs Inc (ALAB) experienced significant options trading with 44,015 contracts, equating to about 4.4 million underlying shares, which is 68.4% of its average daily trading volume. Notably, the $175 strike call option expiring on December 5, 2025, saw 2,817 contracts traded.
LSB Industries Options Activity: LSB Industries, Inc. (LXU) recorded a trading volume of 2,795 contracts, representing approximately 279,500 underlying shares, or 64.2% of its average daily trading volume. The $10 strike call option expiring on December 19, 2025, was particularly active with 2,687 contracts traded.
Options Trading Insights: The article provides insights into the options trading activities of ALAB and LXU, highlighting specific strike prices and expiration dates that have garnered attention from traders.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Nasdaq, Inc.
