Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) stock is a popular option for Aussie investors.

The mining giant is one of the most widely held shares on the Australian share market.

And even if you don't hold it directly, there's a high probability that you have indirect exposure through your superannuation fund.

But is it an ASX share that you should be buying right now? Let's see what analysts are saying about the miner.

Rio Tinto stock: Buy, sell, or hold in 2025?

The good news is that the broker community is feeling positive about Rio Tinto, with a large number of analysts tipping it as a buy.

One of those is Ord Minnett, which has a buy rating and $132.00 price target on its shares. This implies potential upside of approximately 13% for investors over the next 12 months.

It recently spoke positively about Rio Tinto's lithium expansion. It said:

The company, which agreed in October to take over lithium miner Arcadium Lithium (ASX: LTM) for $US7 billion ($10 billion), reaffirmed its faith in the long-term outlook for the battery metal, arguing the market would quintuple in size by the mid-2030s.

Combined with its own developments – Jadar in Serbia and Rincon in Argentina (which has just received final investment approval) – the Arcadium acquisition would position Rio Tinto as the world's No.3 lithium miner, behind only US-based Abermarle and Chile's SQM, and lift its annual total production of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) to more than 450,000tonnes from circa 75,000 tonnes currently.

Elsewhere, analysts at Morgan Stanley have an overweight rating and $136.50 price target and Goldman Sachs has a buy rating and $146.20 price target. This suggests that upside of 17% and 25%, respectively, is possible for Rio Tinto stock.

Commenting on the company and its valuation, Goldman Sachs said:

Relative valuation: trading at c. ~0.7x NAV (A$163.2/sh) vs. peers (BHP ~0.8x NAV and FMG ~1.1x NAV) and c. ~5x NTM EBITDA at GSe base case, below the historical average of ~6-7x.

RIO is a FCF and production growth story in our view, with forecast Cu Eq production growth of ~3-6% in 2025 & 2026 driven mostly by the ramp-up of the Oyu Tolgoi UG copper mine & a recovery at Escondida, higher Pilbara Fe shipments with the ramp-up of new mines, and a rebound in aluminium production.

Overall, this could make Rio Tinto stock worth considering if you are looking for exposure to the mining sector.