The Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price is struggling today. At the time of writing, the lithium share is 2.46% lower at $2.38 apiece.
After a rocky period to finish FY22, Pilbara has started the new financial year well on the chart. It is up 4% in July, having bounced from six-month lows on 23 June.
In broader market moves, the S&P/ASX 300 Metals and Mining index (ASX: XMM) is also down 0.52% on Tuesday.
What's in store for the Pilbara Minerals share price?
Last week, Pilbara announced a drop in lithium prices via its battery materials exchange (BMX) auction process. This is the first dip since the BMX began.
The price nudged down 2.5% month on month to approximately US$6,841 per dmt [dry metric tonne] on 5.5% lithia. This was for a 5,000 dmt cargo of lithium for delivery in August.
Still, just a month earlier, the company advised it had accepted a record pre-auction offer of US$7,017 per dmt on the same specifications.
Still, brokers are bullish on the Pilbara share price. According to a note from Macquarie, its analysts rate Pilbara a buy on a $4.20 per share valuation.
Curiously, despite the lower BMX auction price, Macquarie was still impressed by the prices Pilbara has received – higher than the broker's estimates.
Pilbara is also rated a buy from around 86% of brokers covering the share, with the remainder suggesting to hold, according to Refinitiv Eikon data.
From this list, the consensus price target is $3.13 per share. That's roughly 28% return potential from the current market price.
Pilbara share price snapshot
In the last 12 months, the Pilbara share price has recorded a 58% gain but has lost 26% year to date.
The company has a current market capitalisation of just over $7 billion.
