Sydney, June 11, 2026, 17:55 (AEST)
- PLS Group ended Thursday at A$5.94, gaining A$0.18, or 3.13%.
- S&P/ASX 200 eased 0.23%. Lithium stocks bounced again for a second straight session.
- Investors are watching lithium prices, Pilgangoora production, and PLS’s efforts in mid-stream processing.
PLS Group Limited shares climbed on Thursday, beating the wider Australian market as lithium names bounced from earlier losses. The ASX-listed lithium producer ended at A$5.94, up 18 cents, or 3.13%. Shares traded between A$5.52 and A$5.96 during the session.
S&P/ASX 200 ended down 20.1 points at 8,633.2, off 0.23%. The All Ordinaries slipped 0.23% to 8,836.7. Market Index said financials and tech stocks dragged the market, but materials were up 0.29%.
Lithium stocks pushed higher again, with PLS up as part of the sector’s rebound. Market Index reported GFEX lithium carbonate futures climbing 3.4% to CNY 172,880 a tonne. Liontown Resources jumped 4.2%, PLS was up 3.1%, Vulcan Energy gained 2.9%, Elevra Lithium tacked on 1.8% and Mineral Resources added 1.6%.
PLS Group shares rose Thursday, ending the day at A$5.94, up 3.1%, according to Market Index. The lithium stock has been volatile. Over the last month, PLS is still off 8.6%. Despite recent swings, Market Index data shows the stock is up 343.3% for the year, a sign of the rebound in lithium sentiment.
PLS had a market cap near A$19.13 billion, according to Google Finance. Average daily volume was at 36.25 million shares, with Thursday’s trade at 27.55 million shares. The stock started at A$5.68 and gained through the day.
PLS Group, which used to be Pilbara Minerals, is listed on the ASX as a lithium materials player. PLS says it runs Pilgangoora, billed as the world’s largest independent hard-rock lithium mine, in Western Australia. It also owns the Colina Project in Brazil.
PLS got some focus after it moved further into battery materials. On June 5, the company said it opened Australia’s first mine-site lithium mid-stream processing plant at Pilgangoora. First product is set for the September quarter of 2026. The demo plant is built to handle around 27,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate per year and make about 3,000 tonnes of lithium phosphate.
PLS is done with construction and is moving into the next phase, CEO Dale Henderson said. “Construction is now complete and our focus turns to commissioning, operational performance and commercial validation,” Henderson said in a June 5 statement. PLS
The lithium market has picked up after earlier softness. Reuters in April said PLS hit a new high for quarterly output, producing 232,436 dry metric tonnes of spodumene concentrate in March, topping Visible Alpha consensus. Shipments moved up to 195,691 dry tonnes. PLS kept its 2026 output guidance at 820,000 to 870,000 tonnes.
Analysts are still divided after the stock’s rally. Over the last three months, Google Finance lists 12 analyst calls: six buys, four holds and two sells. The average price target for 12 months is A$5.89—just under Thursday’s close at A$5.94. Price targets run from A$2.60 up to A$7.50.
Pilbara Minerals’ (PLS) next set piece comes July 29, when its quarterly results are due, Market Index’s company calendar shows. In the meantime, PLS shares will keep tracking lithium carbonate futures, spodumene prices and any updates from Pilgangoora’s commissioning and ramp-up.
