Lake Resources (ASX: LKE) shares are up 0.5% in Friday morning trade.
Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) lithium company closed yesterday trading for 44.5 cents. Shares are currently changing hands for 45 cents apiece.
That's today's price action for you.
Now, if I'd invested $500 in Lake Resources shares back on the miner's first day of trading, how much would I have now?
How much would $500 at launch be worth today?
As you can see on the one-year price chart below, the past 12 months haven't been exactly rewarding for Lake Resources shareholders.
Among other headwinds, the ASX 200 lithium stock has come under pressure as some analysts expressed doubts over the commercial viability of the company's Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technology. DLE is meant to produce high-purity lithium with far less waste.
Lake Resources shares were trading at all-time highs last April, closing at $2.31 per share on 1 April.
Shares are down a painful 81% since those highs.
But as I didn't have the benefit of hindsight in April, I held onto my stock for the ride down as well as for the steep gains posted in 2021 and early 2022.
Lake Resources shares listed on the ASX on 29 August 2001. I could have bought shares early on that day for 34 cents apiece.
That means my $500 would have gotten me 1,470 shares, and I would have had a little loose change left in my pocket.
At the current price of 45 cents a share, my allotment would be worth $661.50 today. Or a gain of 32%.
As Lake Resources shares don't pay any dividends, that's the total I would have pocketed if I opted to sell today.
Oh, and if I did have a working crystal ball (or had darn fortunate timing) and had opted to sell my stock on 1 April last year for $2.31 per share, that $500 would have turned into $3,395.70.
