Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) shares have made a lot of investors a lot of money over the past year.
How much?
Well, one year ago today the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) lithium stock was trading for 93 cents per share. In morning trade today those same shares are swapping hands for $2.89 apiece.
That puts Liontown shares up an eyewatering 210% in just 12 months, as you can see in the chart below.
With those gains already in the bag, is it too late to invest in this booming ASX 200 lithium share?
What's been driving the ASX 200 lithium stock to new heights?
Before looking ahead, here's what's been motivating ASX 200 investors to buy Liontown shares.
Atop broader investor interest in the booming lithium space, the miner has had a number of successes over the year gone by.
Among those, investors will be looking ahead to mid-2024. That's when Liontown plans to deliver its first lithium production from its Kathleen Valley lithium project in Western Australia.
And the miner is already engaged in supplying the battery critical metal to industries in the United States.
Liontown's Western Australian Goldfields will supply the first hydroxide refinery in Texas, producing 'IRA compliant' battery-grade lithium.
Also putting a rocket under Liontown shares this year was the takeover offer from US lithium giant Albemarle Corp (NYSE: ALB) in March. The offer valued Liontown at $2.50 per share. That was higher than the share price at the time but lower than the current share price of $2.89.
Although Liontown rejected the offer as undervaluing its stock, Albemarle could potentially return with a superior offer. That could see the Liontown share price lift off again, in which case it's not too late to buy the booming ASX 200 lithium miner.
What these top brokers are forecasting for Liontown shares
While some analysts are recommending holding off on buying Liontown, both Macquarie and Bell Potter have a positive outlook for the stock.
Macquarie has an outperform rating on Liontown with a $3 price target.
Bell Potter has a buy rating with a $3.35 price target. That's some 12% above the current share price.
Among the broker's reasons to be optimistic is the takeover interest from Albemarle.
"The corporate interest in Liontown from a high-profile US-based industry participant speaks to the quality of Kathleen Valley and the scarcity of growth opportunities in the sector," Bell Potter's analysts noted.
And the analysts are in line with Liontown's management in believing the takeover offer didn't fully value the ASX 200 lithium miner's assets:
We view the value of Albemarle's proposal as reasonable, but not full; with additional value to be argued from Liontown's de-risking of Kathleen Valley, downstream projects and complementary ESG strategy and location. We also believe Liontown will ultimately be capable of realising this value in the absence of a corporate tie-up.
So, while it looks like the, erm, lion's share of the gains may have been reaped over the past 12 months, Liontown shares still appear to offer some significant upside potential.
