The Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price is the gift that keeps on giving, rallying another 8.57% on Tuesday to a record high of $2.28.
Let's have a look at what could be behind Pilbara's high today.
Lithium prices continue to advance
Lithium spot prices have continued to rally in a spectacular fashion. The latest commentary from Fastmarkets cites "battery-grade lithium prices in China rise further with producers broadly sold out after recent consumer restocking" and "lithium prices in the seaborne Asian market held steady amid logistical disruptions".
Meanwhile, it reports "US, European lithium spot markets stable amid summer lull".
With lithium prices continuing to grind higher, it looks as though the Pilbara Minerals share price has followed suit.
JPMorgan is bullish on ASX-listed lithium miners
JPMorgan has slapped an overweight rating on all the ASX-listed lithium miners under its coverage, including Pilbara Minerals, according to the Australian Financial Review (AFR).
Quoting JPMorgan analysts, the AFR reported, "The lithium commodity complex is one of the few remaining in our coverage where there is meaningful upside likely over the medium term, given the strong demand backdrop."
As such, the broker raised its long-term lithium spodumene price target by 31 per cent to US$850 a tonne.
By comparison, Pilbara Minerals was able to fetch US$1,250/dry metric tonne for its spodumene concentrate at its recent inaugural lithium auction.
Yet another record high for the Pilbara Minerals share price
On a weekly chart, the Pilbara Minerals share price has rallied to a new record high every week for the past five weeks.
The surge in its share price has seen its valuation balloon to just over $6.5 billion. That's more than Galaxy Resources Ltd (ASX: GXY) and Orocobre Ltd (ASX: ORE) combined.
