Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) shares are under pressure again on Monday.
In afternoon trade, the lithium miner's shares are down 1.5% to 55.7 cents.
This means that its shares are now down over 50% since this time last year.
Is this a buying opportunity? Let's see what analysts at Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) are saying about its shares.
Are Liontown shares undervalued?
According to a note out of Macquarie, its analysts see value in Liontown's shares at current levels. But not enough to recommend them as a buy.
Macquarie has responded to the company's quarterly update by retaining its neutral rating and 65 cents price target.
Based on its current share price, this implies potential upside of almost 17% for investors from current levels.
The broker was pleased with its performance during the third quarter, with production, sales, and costs better than expected. It said:
Spodumene concentrate production/sales of 95.7kt/93.9kt was a 8%/4% beat vs. VA driven by stronger than expected recoveries of 64% (8% beat vs. VA). AISC of A$1,081/t was also a 8% beat vs. VA on lower sustaining capital (general & mine development) during the 3Q which is expected to be caught up in the 4Q
Commenting on its recommendation, Macquarie said:
Maintain Neutral: LTR has now delivered two solid quarters of operational performance in a row with the uptick in recoveries particularly encouraging, and is doing well in a challenging lithium market, but it needs an uptick in spodumene prices to +US$900/t to generate meaningful FCF moving forward.
Is anyone more bullish?
Bell Potter is more positive on Liontown and its shares. In fact, it thinks they could offer huge returns for investors with a high tolerance for risk.
A note released this morning reveals that its analysts have retained their speculative buy rating and 90 cents price target on its shares. This suggests that its shares could rise 62% over the next 12 months.
Bell Potter was also pleased with the company's performance during the quarter. It said:
LTR reported Q3 FY25 spodumene concentrate production of 96kt and sales of 94kt (BP est. 89kt), supporting revenues of $104m (BP est. $104m) and a closing cash position of $173m (prior quarter $193m). Kathleen Valley's unit operating costs were US$512/dmt SC6e (BP est. US$562/dmt) and All-In Sustaining Costs US$678/dmt. The average received price was US$815/t SC6e (prior quarter $806/t) compared with indices averaging around US$844/t. LTR delivered improvements across processing plant availability, throughput and recoveries, despite marginally lower ore feed grades.
Outside this, it continues to see the Kathleen Valley Lithium Project as a highly strategic asset. It concludes:
LTR's 100% owned Kathleen Valley lithium project remains highly strategic in terms of scale, long project life and location in a tier-one mining jurisdiction. LTR has offtake contracts with top-tier EV and battery OEMs. Under our modelled assumptions, we expect that LTR is fully funded to free cash flow. LTR is an asset development company; our Speculative risk rating recognises this higher level of risk.
