The Pilbara Minerals share price had an outstanding month in March.
The lithium miner's shares soared 18% between market close on 28 February and the close of trade on 31 March. In today's trading, the Pilbara share price leapt 5.54% to finish at $3.62.
Let's take a look at what happened during the month.
What's lifting the Pilbara share price?
Pilbara Minerals is a Western Australian based lithium and tantalum explorer working on its 100% owned Pilgangoora Lithium Tantalum Project.
The Pilbara share price headed north in early March amid optimistic broker coverage. The team at Macquarie rated the Pilbara share price a buy at the time.
Marcus Today senior investment analyst Henry Jennings also recommended Pilbara as a buy in March, as my Foolish colleague Sebastian reported. Jennings said:
After recent falls, the stock is now starting to look attractive and with brokers now upgrading lithium price forecasts, PLS is a buy at around 280c. Having a producer is a bedrock but it is also good to have an explorer with upside potential.
Growth and optimism
On 31 March, Pilbara reported a step forward in its lithium growth strategy. A scoping study provided preliminary support for constructing a demonstration-scale chemicals facility at Pilgangoora. This would produce value-added lithium phosphate salts via an "innovative" refining process. Pilbara shares soared more than 7% on 31 March alone.
As my Foolish colleague James noted, renewed optimism in the shift to electric vehicles may have also favourably impacted the Pilbara share price. Lithium is a critical component in electric vehicle batteries.
In February, Pilbara delivered a statutory profit after tax of $114 million in its FY22 half-year result. The company also reported a record sales revenue of $291.7 million.
Share price snapshot
The Pilbara share price has exploded nearly 234% in the past 12 months, while it has climbed 13% year to date. In the past week, the company's shares have soared nearly 13%.
For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) index has returned about 10% over the past year.
Pilbara has a market capitalisation of about $10.8 billion based on the current share price.
