Sydney, Feb 25, 2026, 18:07 AEDT — Market closed
- PLS Group ended the session at A$4.85, up 2.75%, adding to Tuesday’s big rally.
- Morgan Stanley’s holding notice has once again highlighted the fast-moving shifts in large positions near the 5% disclosure threshold.
- China’s lithium pricing is in focus, with traders eyeing upcoming ASX filings for any signs of sustained momentum.
PLS Group Limited added another 2.75% to finish Wednesday at A$4.85, building on Tuesday’s sharp 8% advance as buyers stayed active in lithium stocks. After sliding 4.57% last Friday, the stock reversed course this week, trading on heavier volume. 1
PLS holds sway as one of the main lithium plays on the ASX, its fortunes closely tracking battery raw material prices. Traders are eyeing China’s Guangzhou Futures Exchange (GFEX) lithium contract again, now that activity has restarted post-Lunar New Year, Market Index reports. 2
PLS Group climbed roughly 8% on Tuesday, making it one of the top-performing large miners in the session, with lithium stocks at the forefront of sector gains. Liontown Resources, another key player, advanced 8.7%, according to ABC. 3
Filings highlight a flurry of activity among major shareholders. One notice revealed Morgan Stanley and its subsidiaries crossed Australia’s 5% substantial holding threshold, reporting 5.19% voting power (167,111,793 ordinary shares). The bank said it became a substantial holder on Feb. 19 and learned of it by Feb. 23. But another notice indicated Morgan Stanley actually dropped below the threshold a day earlier—Feb. 18. 4
During its Feb. 23 conference, PLS reiterated its FY26 goals: production between 820,000 and 870,000 tonnes, with unit operating costs seen at A$560–A$600 per tonne FOB. The slide deck included half-year numbers—sales hit 446.0 kt, underlying EBITDA landed at A$253 million, net profit after tax came in at A$33 million, and cash stood at around A$1 billion as of Dec. 31. 5
The company gave the green light to restart its Ngungaju plant at the Pilgangoora site in Western Australia last week, aiming to bring production back online by July 2026. “The restart of the Ngungaju Plant demonstrates the disciplined through-the-cycle strategy we have executed,” Managing Director and CEO Dale Henderson said. 6
One more immediate pressure point for the sector: fresh stock supply. LG Energy Solution of South Korea is offloading its full 7.5% holding in Liontown, according to a term sheet reviewed by Reuters — a move that will gauge appetite for lithium, and could ripple through investor sentiment on similar names. 7
The two-day rally now puts PLS in a vulnerable spot if China’s price gains lose steam as liquidity returns post-holiday. Should lithium prices retreat again, or if there’s movement in derivatives or securities-lending positions among major holders, things could reverse fast.
Looking ahead, Thursday brings fresh signals from China’s lithium futures and spot prices—traders will be keeping tabs on those, along with whether Wednesday’s rally in ASX-listed lithium stocks can stick. Eyes are also on PLS’s quarterly numbers, which are due April 16 and marked as the next significant company event on several market calendars. 8
