[Edaily Reporter Kwon Oh Seok ] Meritz Securities announced on the 28th that it is maintaining its “Buy” rating on L&F(066970)but lowering its target price from 245,000 won to 210,000 won.

Meritz Securities analyst Noh Woo-ho stated, “The inflection point in the average capacity utilization rate of domestic battery cell manufacturers in 2026 is driven by the EV (electric vehicle) market, which is stabilizing at lower levels, and the ESS (energy storage system) market, which is driving growth. Materials directly linked to the LFP (lithium iron phosphate) value chain can share in the fruits of growth driven by battery cell manufacturers’ production and investment trends,” he analyzed, adding, “L&F maintains strong momentum for securing additional orders due to its first-mover advantage in domestic production facilities for high-density LFP cathode materials.”
He emphasized, “The impact of domestic competitor T’s push to supply cathode materials—which was a factor behind the stock price decline in the first half—is not significant. Since shipments are not expected until the end of 2026 and the absolute volume is negligible, we view this as mere noise,” adding, “Ultimately, considering the market dominance of the end customers, growth potential driven by increased sales volume will outweigh concerns about market fragmentation.”
Researcher Noh noted, “L&F’s production capacity for LFP cathode materials will reach 30,000 metric tons in 2026 and expand to 60,000 metric tons starting in the second quarter of 2027,” adding, “Sequential shipments will proceed to the two domestic customers for whom contract announcements and supply MOUs have been signed. “Considering the ESS production schedules at the domestic and U.S. facilities of these two secured customers, production volume will naturally translate into sales,” he noted.
Furthermore, the company noted, “The upward revision of operating earnings from LFP cathode materials is positive, driven by the effect of rising sales prices (up to +50%) based on secured sales volumes and lithium price trends,” while also stating he added, “The fair stock price has been revised downward based on changes in annual earnings estimates for 2026–2027 and the applied multiple (the average 2027 EV/EBITDA of ECOPRO BM CO., LTD. and POSCO FUTURE M).”