Liontown Ltd (ASX: LTR) shares are climbing higher in Thursday afternoon trade, following the ASX 200 lithium miner's latest quarterly update, posted ahead of the market open this morning.
At the time of writing, the shares are up 1.64% to a 2.5-year high of $2.47 a piece.
It hasn't been a smooth ride for the miner's shares today, though. Shortly following the ASX open this morning, Liontown shares dropped 3.7%. They didn't move into the green until around lunchtime.
Liontown shares are now up an impressive 52% for the year to date and are a huge 365% higher than this time 12 months ago.
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What did Liontown report?
Liontown posted its strongest financial quarter since it commenced production.
For the quarter ending 31st March, the lithium miner achieved its first-ever positive net cash flow of $33 million. The company said the bumper result was mostly driven by strong spodumene sales. It was also boosted by its transition to a 100% fully underground operation at its Kathleen Valley lithium site for the first time.
The transition helped the miner reach targeted production rates earlier than expected.
Liontown also posted a 51% quarter-on-quarter increase in its revenue, to $197 million, and confirmed an operating cash flow of $55 million.
The lithium miner expects to maintain strong operational momentum through FY26. It expects this will be supported by stable underground production and sustained improvements in recoveries.
Just yesterday, Liontown announced an update on its planned expansion of its Kathleen Valley Lithium Operation, located in Western Australia.
The company said it has committed $12 million to long-lead items with up to $77 million likely to be spent before the final investment decision (FID) in the first quarter of FY 2027.
What do analysts think of the lithium miner's shares?
At the time of writing, analysts are relatively divided about the outlook for Liontown shares over the next 12 months.
TradingView data shows that five out of 12 analysts currently have a strong buy rating on the stock. Another five rate the shares as a hold, and two have a sell or strong sell position.
The average target price of $1.935 represents a potential 21.5% downside at the time of writing. But others think the shares could jump another 16% to $2.85 over the next year.
I expect that some analysts could confirm or revise their ratings on the lithium miner's shares in the coming days, following the latest updates.
