It looks set to be a big week for Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) shares.
That's because later this week, the lithium giant will be releasing its highly anticipated third-quarter update.
Ahead of the release on Thursday, let's take a look to see what the market is expecting from the company.
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Pilbara Minerals shares on watch ahead of quarterly update
According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts are expecting Pilbara Minerals to deliver spodumene production of 155kt during the third quarter. This would be down from 162kt during the second quarter but a touch ahead of the consensus estimate of 148kt.
Pleasingly, the broker believes that its sales volumes will be stronger quarter on quarter. It has pencilled in spodumene sales of 170kt for the three months, which is up from 149kt in the previous quarter. It is also ahead of the consensus estimate of 161kt.
And while Goldman expects Pilbara Minerals to report a slightly softer realised spodumene price of US$5,495 per tonne (Q2: US$5,668 per tonne), this is once again ahead of the consensus estimate of US$5,209 per tonne.
Finally, the broker also believes that the company's costs will be better than expected. It is forecasting cash costs of US$623 per tonne (Q2: US$579), whereas the consensus is for a jump to US$865 per tonne.
However, despite this positive view on its performance, Goldman only currently has a neutral rating and $4.20 price target on Pilbara Minerals shares.
