AQP.L Share News (AQP)

Share prices of platinum mining peers Lonmin and Aquarius Platinum received a boost on Tuesday morning after Westhouse Securities removed its 'sell' ratings on both stocks.The move came after site visits to the companies' South African platinum assets, where it gained insight into current labour situations and further clarity on production and cost performance."Both Lonmin and Aquarius have done a good job, in difficult circumstances," said analysts Nick Hatch and Rob Broke in a research report, as they lowered their cost estimates for both firms."Lonmin's ramp-up of production at Marikana is commendable following the problems at the mine in Q3 2012. "Equally, the good performance at Kroondal following the change to owner-operator and hanging-wall support has allowed us to increase our production estimates for Aquarius."Both stocks have been upgraded from 'sell' to 'neutral' and their target prices have edged higher, to 265p (from 250p) for Lonmin and to 40p (from 35p) for Aquarius.Nevertheless, the analysts have cut their forecasts for precious metals prices following recent price weakness, which will impact earnings going forward.They concluded: "Investors should keep an eye on union and wage issues in South Africa and the Zimbabwean election. If the companies can successfully navigate these events, a more positive view may be warranted; on the other hand, any negative issues may result in share price weakness."By 10:45 on Tuesday, Lonmin was up 2.22% at 285.9p while Aquarius was 1.22% higher at 41.5p.