The Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price has been on a downhill trajectory over the past month.
Despite travelling 3.56% higher to $2.62 today, the company's shares have, in fact, plummeted 20% since 11 April.
Below, we take a look at what has happened to Pilbara Minerals shares and if they might present a buying opportunity.
Image source: Getty Images
What's going on with Pilbara Minerals shares?
The Pilbara Minerals share price continued to power ahead from mid-March to April on the back of investor hype.
However, the recent turn of events, such as interest rate hikes and an expected global economic slowdown, likely triggered its downfall.
On most days, anywhere between 20 million and 35 million of the company's shares are swapping hands. Between 5 May and yesterday, Pilbara Minerals saw up to 51.2 million shares being exchanged on any single day.
With no company announcements within the last two weeks, investor attention has been turned to the spot price for lithium. While the value of lithium carbonate has rocketed since this time last year, prices have gradually eased.
Currently, the battery-making ingredient is fetching 462,500 Chinese yuan per metric tonne. This represents a 4.15% decline over the past month.
In addition, turmoil across global markets has also played a part in the company's share price.
What do the brokers think?
A couple of brokers weighed in on the Pilbara Minerals share price following the company's financial scorecard in February.
Analysts at Macquarie slashed its 12-month price target by 5% to $3.50 for Pilbara Minerals shares.
Meantime, Citi also reduced its rating by 5.4% to $3.50.
Based on the current share price, Macquarie and Citi's take implies a potential upside of 37% for investors.
About the Pilbara Minerals share price
Regardless of its recent declines, the Pilbara Minerals share price has more than doubled in value over the past 12 months.
The company's shares reached an all-time high of $3.89 in mid-January before sharply pulling back to December 2021 levels.
On valuation grounds, Pilbara Minerals presides a market capitalisation of roughly $7.68 billion.
