Liontown Ltd (ASX: LTR) shares are down around 2.5% and trading at $1.86 a piece in Tuesday afternoon trade.

Today’s decline means the ASX 200 lithium shares have now crashed 30% from a three-year high recorded in early May. 

Thankfully, after a strong start to the year, the shares are still 14% higher year to date and a huge 181% higher than 12 months ago.

For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up around 0.1% today and around 1% higher for the year to date.

What happened to Liontown shares?

ASX lithium mining shares like Liontown experienced a strong uptick in the first few months of 2026, driven by resurging lithium prices and soaring investor sentiment. 

Liontown rode the lithium rebound, and at the same time, investors have been pleased with the company’s production growth potential. It looks like investors leaned into Liontown shares this year on the pretence that it has a long-term ability to benefit from strong lithium pricing and expanding global EV demand.

The miner’s development pipeline and exposure to future supply chains have also attracted investor attention.

But while the commodity boom is a strong tailwind for the miner, there is also a drawback.

Liontown is practically a pure-play lithium miner, and its assets are overwhelmingly lithium-focused. This means it is sensitive to and heavily dependent on lithium price trajectories. 

If the price rally starts to reverse, the business is at risk.

And that’s exactly what has played out in Liontown’s share price.

Trading Economics data shows that lithium carbonate prices spiked to a multi-year high in mid-May. But now prices have dropped to around CNY157,000 (approx. AU$33,210) per tonne, the lowest level in ten weeks, following speculation that one of the world’s largest lithium mines could resume operations soon.

Trading Economics explained that Contemporary Amperex Technology‘s Jianxiawo mine in Jiangxi province was suspended last year due to permitting issues. But there has been a recent government notice about a preliminary land assessment. And this has fueled expectations that the site could restart in the second half of 2026. 

The concern is that a potential restart could weigh heavily on prices at a time when the market is still concerned about global lithium oversupply. This, combined with overall sector-wide weakness, can continue driving the lithium stock lower.

The question now is, what can we expect from Liontown shares next?

Are the shares a buy, sell, or hold now?

Analysts are divided about the outlook for the lithium miner over the next year. 

TradingView data shows that sentiment is split. Out of 12 analysts, five have a strong buy rating, four rate the miner as a hold, and three have a sell or strong sell stance.

The average $2.20 target price, however, implies a potential 17% upside at the time of writing. 

But the range between the minimum and maximum target prices is huge. Some tip the shares to crash another 50% to just 95 cents, while the more bullish of the bunch think there is potential for Liontown shares to climb another 60% to $3 each.

The post Liontown shares crash 18% in a month: What happened? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Samantha Menzies has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Contemporary Amperex Technology,. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is a touch lower on Tuesday, despite another decent session for the big banks.

At the time of writing, the ASX 200 is down 0.07% to 8,809 points.

The index has moved around during the session. It climbed as high as 8,849.9 points earlier in the day before falling to a low of 8,798.4 points.

At the latest check, 139 of the top 200 shares are trading lower, while 51 are higher and 10 are unchanged.

Bank stocks provide some support

The main reason the ASX 200 isn’t down further is the support coming from the big banks.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares are up 0.67% to $164.50, while Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) shares are 1.01% higher at $35.475.

National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) shares are up 1.19% to $38.32, and ANZ Group Holdings Ltd(ASX: ANZ) shares are 1.28% higher at $35.70.

Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) is also helping, with its shares up 0.81% to $249.92.

That strength is helping offset weakness elsewhere, especially with several large resource names trading lower.

CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL) is also lending a hand. Its shares are up 1.36% to $114.41.

Resources stocks hold back the ASX 200

The resources side of the market is under pressure today.

BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) shares are down 0.18% to $60.23, while Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) shares are 0.57% lower at $28.605.

Although gold and lithium stocks are seeing heavier selling.

Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) shares are down 2.45% to $20.68, Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) shares are 1.81% lower at $12.75, and Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC) shares are down 2.44% to $18.165.

PLS Group Ltd (ASX: PLS) is also being sold off, with its shares down 2.80% to $5.37.

US tech jitters are still being watched

Local investors are keeping an eye on Wall Street after another choppy session for US tech stocks.

The Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) was pressured by weakness in large tech names, including Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) and Space Exploration Technologies Corp (NASDAQ: SPCX).

US futures are also lower during local trade, which has kept buyers cautious around growth stocks.

That is flowing through to some ASX tech shares. Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX: PME) shares are down 1.20% to $172.55, while REA Group Ltd (ASX: REA) shares are 1.78% lower at $133.35.

Where does the ASX 200 go from here?

The ASX 200 is still up 1.1% since the start of 2026 and around 4% over the past year.

Still, today’s session shows the market is leaning heavily on the banks.

If resources and tech keep slipping, the index may need more support from offshore markets to move higher.

The post Why is the ASX 200 stuck in the red today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Alphabet, CSL, and Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Lynas Rare Earths Ltd and Pro Medicus. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet, BHP Group, CSL, Macquarie Group, and Pro Medicus. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

If you’re looking for solid capital gains and trying to sort the wheat from the chaff on the ASX, it’s often useful to defer to the experts.

I’ve had a look through the research reports from the broking houses this week and have selected three companies tipped to deliver outsized gains over the next 12 months.

Let’s see who the brokers like.

Acrow Ltd (ASX: ACF)

Acrow is a construction systems company – think scaffolding, formwork, and the like.

The company recently announced a fully underwritten institutional equity raise to raise $70 million, along with a share purchase plan for another $10 million.

Ord Minnett, in a note to clients over the past week, said the company’s goal of paying down debt and restarting its M&A strategy with the $27 million acquisition of Ausgroup and the $25 million acquisition of Preston Superdeck was a positive.

They added:

We view this update positively for a number of reasons: 1) the debt levels of ACF have been an ongoing issue for the company, and the equity raise goes a long way in wrangling the Net Debt/EBITDA multiple to reasonable levels; 2) Ausgroup looks to be a nice bolt-on acquisition, bolstering ACF’s presence in North Queensland with industrial access proving to be a solid revenue stream for the group; and 3) Preston Superdeck fills a product gap in ACF’s product offering, adding loading platforms to the company’s ‘one stop-shop’ value proposition in the construction services space.

Ord Minnett has a price target of $1.30 on Acrow compared to 93.5 cents currently. If achieved, this would be a 39% return.

Credit Clear Ltd (ASX: CCR)

Morgans has tipped Credit Clear as a company to watch, saying the debt collection business has scope to grow, given its proprietary digital collections platform, which they say is a key differentiator.

The broker said regarding the company:

Since listing in 2020, the group has evolved from a pure-play collections technology business to an increasingly scalable end-to-end contingent collections platform which, in our view, is well positioned to deliver long-term compounding growth both organically and through acquisitive market consolidation.

Morgans said Credit Clear is in a unique position to consolidate the market, which is worth $1.5 billion across Australasia and the UK.

The broker has a price target of 30 cents for the company, compared to 21 cents currently, which would represent a 42.9% return if achieved.

IODM Ltd (ASX: IOD)

Shaw and Partners likes IODM, which is an accounts receivable automation software company.

The broker said a recent deal with TransferMate “materially expands IODM’s distribution opportunity across its primary growth region while further strengthening a strategic partnership that has expanded materially over the past 12 months”.

Shaw and Partners said the deal followed the expansion with TransferMate into the US earlier, “reinforcing our view that the relationship is becoming increasingly strategic for both parties”.

Shaw and Partners has a price target of 29 cents for IODM shares, up from 12 cents currently, which would represent a gain of 141.7% if achieved.

The post 3 ASX shares with 39% to 141% growth ahead of them: Experts appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Buy, hold, sell: How does Morgans rate these ASX shares?
• Why Acrow, Ampol, Medallion Metals, and Northern Star shares are racing higher

Motley Fool contributor Cameron England has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.