The Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price has been at the forefront of investor attention in recent times.
Pilbara is the largest ASX-listed lithium player and has been heavily traded throughout September.
This is due to the ongoing hype surrounding the battery-making ingredient.
In morning trade, Pilbara Minerals shares are down 0.51% to $1.97. This follows a 3.88% drop yesterday to $1.98.
These price falls can be attributed to broader market weakness following the Dow Jones plunge this week.
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Why is Pilbara Minerals being heavily traded?
Since the start of September, the volume of Pilbara Minerals shares being traded has jumped higher.
On most days, between 20 million and 35 million Pilbara shares are trading hands.
However, on 6 September, more than 206 million shares changed hands on the back of a market-sensitive update.
The company announced a substantial increase in its Mineral Resource at its flagship 100%-owned Pilgangoora Lithium-Tantalum Project in Western Australia's Pilbara region.
In addition, the spot price for lithium has surged in 2021. The battery-making ingredient is expected to be adopted across a number of industries, most notably electric vehicles.
Furthermore, Pilbara Minerals released its full-year results on 26 August, highlighting a significant increase in shipments of spodumene concentrate.
This was underpinned by improved market conditions and robust operational performance at its Pilgangoora Lithium-Tantalum Operations.
A couple of brokers weighed in on the company's share price following its FY21 scorecard.
Analysts at JPMorgan cut their outlook on Pilbara Minerals shares to 'neutral' from its original 'overweight' rating. This led the broker to reduce its assessment of the Pilbara Minerals share price by 4.2% to $2.30.
On the other hand, Citi raised their view on Pilbara Minerals shares by 6.9% to $2.20.
Based on the current share price, JPMorgan's and Citi's take implies an upside of 14% and 10% respectively.
About the Pilbara Minerals share price
Over the past 12 months, Pilbara Minerals shares have flown 553% higher, with year-to-date gains above 125%.
The company's share price reached an all-time high of $2.53 on 15 September before lowering due to profit-taking.
Pilbara Minerals presides a market capitalisation of $5.75 billion and has approximately 2.9 billion shares on its books.
