Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) shares had a difficult time in March.
Over the month, the lithium developer's shares lost approximately 10% of their value.
This means that the Liontown share price is now down over 55% on a 12-month basis.
Why did Liontown shares tumble last month?
Investors were selling the company's shares in March after broad weakness in the lithium industry offset some very good news.
That news relates to the funding of the Kathleen Valley Lithium Project in Western Australia.
As we covered here at the time, Liontown has entered into a $550 million debt facility agreement, which will fund the company through to its first production and the ramp-up to its three million tonnes per year (Mtpa) lithium spodumene concentrate base case.
The funding of the project was a major risk that the company was facing. So, with it now funded through to production, things are looking a lot more upbeat for Liontown and its shareholders.
So much so, one leading broker believes that investors should be snapping up Liontown shares while they are down in the dumps.
Bullish broker
The team at Bell Potter was very pleased with the funding news last month.
In response to the update, the broker reaffirmed its speculative buy rating and lifted its price target materially to $1.90.
Based on where Liontown shares currently trade, this price target implies potential upside of 68% over the next 12 months.
To put that into context, a $20,000 would turn into almost $34,000 if Bell Potter is on the money with its recommendation.
What did it say?
Commenting on the debt funding package, the broker said:
We estimate the new facility provides funding headroom of around A$150m above KV's remaining capex and working capital requirements. Notably, the debt conditions and covenants provide some confidence in KV's status, requiring that the project can support the facility and a subsequent refinancing under independent technical assessments and price forecasts.
Outside this, Bell Potter continues to hold the Kathleen Valley Lithium Project in high regard. It concludes:
With the near-term funding overhang reduced, we have lifted our LTR valuation to $1.90/sh (previously $1.60/sh). LTR's 100% owned KV lithium project remains highly strategic in terms of its stage of development, long mine life and location. LTR has offtake contracts with top tier EV and battery OEMs (Ford, LG Energy Solution and Tesla). Hancock Prospecting has a 19.9% interest in LTR. LTR is an asset development company; our Speculative risk rating recognises this higher level of risk.
