The Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price seems impervious to the market sell-off, but after a 30%-plus rally over the past month, can the lithium miner rise further?
Sentiment towards the ASX lithium share is on a high following the August reporting season. That was when the miner posted a 577% uplift in FY22 revenue to around $1.2 billion due to high lithium prices.
That in turn pushed its gross margin up by a stunning 18.5 times to $853.5 million.
The Pilbara Minerals share price continues to outperform
The Pilbara share price continues to bask in the afterglow of the company's results. It's gained 14.8% since the miner reported FY22 earnings on 23 August.
The shares are a little down today, losing 0.27% to $3.64 so far. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has slumped nearly 2%, at the time of writing.
A negative lead from Wall Street triggered the drop with nearly all ASX sectors in the red today.
Why ASX lithium shares are in vogue
What is also helping is that Pilbara isn't the only lithium producer to report strong results. This reinforces confidence that lithium prices could stay higher for longer.
Further, lithium prices haven't suffered a major correction like many other commodities, such as iron ore and copper.
These commodities have been hit by recession fears, but not lithium. Experts are predicting strong growth in the demand for electric vehicles (EVs) and lithium is a key ingredient in EV batteries.
If anything, some experts — as well as Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE) — are forecasting the lithium market to remain in deficit for years to come.
Not all good news
Another bull is the analyst team at Macquarie. The broker has a 12-month target of $5.60 on the Pilbara Minerals share price.
However, you won't find consensus among the experts. Some believe the lithium price is set for a correction as the market is underestimating the amount of new supply that can come onto the market.
Then there is the threat of new battery technologies, like graphene, that do not require lithium. The technology is reported to be longer lasting and more environmentally friendly than lithium.
Pilbara share price snapshot
It's anyone's guess how the Pilbara share price and other ASX lithium shares will trade over the coming months. But as the saying goes about 'making the trend your friend', the path of least resistance appears to be up for the sector.
The Pilbara share price has gained 65% over the past year. Allkem jumped 54% and Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN) climbed 21%.
In comparison, the ASX 200 is down 9% over the period.
