It certainly has been a tough 12 months for Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) shares.
Despite the company graduating from lithium developer to miner, its shares have been hammered and are down 30% over the period. This can be seen on the chart below.
Image source: Getty Images
Is this a buying opportunity or will Core Lithium shares keep falling?
Opinion remains divided on where Core Lithium shares are going from here. This makes it a risky proposition for investors.
For example, over at Goldman Sachs, its analysts believe the Core Lithium share price could fall as low as 80 cents. So, with its shares currently fetching 98 cents, this implies potential downside of just over 18% for investors.
The broker believes its share price "remains ahead of fundamentals despite the recent resource increase, in our view, trading at 1.3x NAV or pricing ~US$1,470/t LT spodumene (peer average ~US$1,100/t)."
The team at Macquarie don't agree with this view. In response to last week's mineral resource upgrade, its analysts retained their outperform rating with an improved price target of $1.20. This suggests that Core Lithium shares could rise over 22% from current levels.
Finally, over at Morgans, its analysts are sitting on the fence and believe the lithium miner's shares are fairly valued now. The broker has a hold rating and $1.00 price target, which is just a touch ahead of where they trade today.
In addition, its analysts recently looked into whether Core Lithium could be a takeover target along with Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR). However, it feels this is unlikely. The broker thinks "a takeover bid is less likely given the smaller resource size, higher EV / resource and likely higher cost operations."
Time will tell which broker makes the right call on Core Lithium shares.
