The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price has finished off a relatively rangebound month with a sharp drop in the latter part of April.
The mining giant's shares have fallen by more than 5% in the past week alone, slipping just 0.02% to close at $48.01 on Friday.
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What happened to BHP shares in April?
Weak investor sentiment drove the BHP share price lower this month following the company's third-quarter trading update on 21 April.
BHP revealed a fall in production across most of its operations due to a variety of issues for each of its commodities. Its shares sank more than 13% in the three days after releasing the result to the market.
Notably, the miner's shares hit a 52-week high of $53.72 just two days prior to the announcement.
In a positive light, the company noted that the proposed merger of its petroleum business with Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) was on track. However, this did little to appease investors, who appeared more interested in the results.
Despite the current slump, BHP advised that FY22 production guidance for iron ore, metallurgical coal and energy coal remained unchanged. However, total copper and nickel production guidance has been lowered due to COVID-related labour constraints.
What do the brokers think?
One broker weighed in on BHP's shares after the release of its latest performance report.
Analysts at Macquarie cut its price target by 1.6% to $60.00 for the BHP share price. It appears the broker still remains bullish on the company despite some short-term headwinds.
UBS had a different tone, raising its outlook by 2.4% to $43.00 late last month. This implies a potential upside of around 11% based on the current share price.
BHP share price summary
Regardless of the recent BHP share price weaknesses, investors would be pleased with a 15.6% gain in 2022.
This is a stark contrast to its shares trading flat over the past 12 months.
BHP presides a market capitalisation of roughly $242.18 billion, making it the biggest company on the ASX.
