The Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) share price is pushing higher in mid-afternoon trade.
Last Wednesday, the coal miner released its March quarterly report which excited the market. This led the company's shares to reach a 52-week high of $4.94 that day.
While Whitehaven shares have slightly retraced, they are up 6.14% to $4.67 at the time of writing.
Let's take a closer look at what could be driving these gains today.
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Whitehaven shares on the rise
With no market-sensitive news out of the company since its production report, it appears investors are reacting on a series of broker notes.
Goldman Sachs remains confident on Whitehaven shares, despite cutting its 12-month price target by 1.9% to $5.20. This represents a potential upside of around 11% based on the current share price.
Its analysts believe the miner's shares are a buy as it is well-placed to benefit from the strong coal prices.
The broker acknowledged the already tight global coal markets which have the potential to be further impacted. It said that the Russia-Ukraine war is putting Russian coal exports at risk based on possible sanctions by European & Asian utilities and steel mills.
In addition, Morgans had a similar view with Goldman Sachs, raising its rating of Whitehaven shares by 2.7% to $5.24.
However, the most bullish broker note came from Ord Minnett, which lifted the company's shares by 30% to $6 apiece. According to their estimates, this implies an upside of 28% from where the Whitehaven share price trades today.
Whitehaven share price summary
In the past 12 months, Whitehaven shares have surged 270%, with year-to-date gains closing in on 80%.
Whitehaven commands a market capitalisation of roughly $4.74 billion, making it the 103rd largest company on the ASX.
