It’s looking like a very happy end to the trading week indeed for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) so far this Friday. After rising every single session over the week so far, the ASX 200 is on track to make it five out of five today. At present, the Index has recorded a gain of 0.82%, lifting it back above 7,180 points. 

What a way to start the weekend (touch wood). But time now to turn to the ASX 200 shares that are currently topping the share market’s trading volume charts, according to investing.com.

The 3 most traded ASX 200 shares by volume this Friday

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

First up we have ASX 200 lithium miner and producer Pilbara Minerals. This Friday has had a hefty 20.02 million Pilbara shares swap hands as it currently stands. We haven’t heard anything out of Pilbara either today. However, we have had some love from ASX brokers that could be contributing to this volume.

As my Fool colleague covered this afternoon, ASX broker Citi has given Pilbara shares a buy rating and a price target of $4.60. But investors don’t seem inspired and have sent the Pilbara share price down by 0.5% so far to $3.97 a share. Maybe it’s this combination that has resulted in so many shares flying around.

Mirvac Group (ASX: MGR)

Next up today is the ASX 200 real estate investment trust (REIT) Mirvac Group. This Friday has seen a sizeable 21.17 million Mirvac units find a new home over the trading day thus far. This is a rather interesting case to look at. There hasn’t been much in the way of fresh news or announcements out for a while from this REIT.

So we must conclude that this volume is a result of the unit price movements of the trust itself. Mirvac has had a pretty positive day. The REIT opened at $2.09 per unit after closing at $2.07 yesterday and has gone as high as $2.10 this session. At present, Mirvac is asking $2.08 a unit, up 0.48% for the day so far.

Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA)

Our third, final and most traded ASX 200 share this Friday is another lithium stock in Sayona Mining. This session has seen a whopping 35.9 million Sayona shares find a new ASX home so far. This is another interesting case.

This morning, Sayona shares rocketed up as high as 22 cents each (up nearly 4%) after the company announced that its North American Lithium project has been restarted.

But investors seem to have gotten a major case of cold feet since, with Sayona shares now down by a nasty 2.44% at 20 cents apiece. This volatility is almost certainly behind this elevated trading volume on display here.

The post Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Friday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy now
• Why is the Sayona Mining share price having such a stellar end to the week?
• Piedmont Lithium share price surges 6% on ‘exciting milestone’
• ‘Sky-high demand’: 2 ASX 200 mining shares that could head to the moon
• Don’t stress! The stock market is ‘a long way from a crisis’

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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ASX 200 lithium shares had a dream run over 2021 and 2022 as commodity prices soared in line with the rapidly rising global uptake of electric vehicles (EVs).

The price of lithium carbonate went from about US$5,800 per tonne in late 2020 to US$86,000 per tonne in November 2022. But then the party was over, with lithium tumbling since then to US$35,500 today.

Over this time frame, pretty much all ASX 200 lithium shares have done well. But one more so than all the others. In fact, it became a 10-bagger in just two short years.

A 10-bagger is a company whose share price has grown in value 10 times over.

And, the future of this particular lithium stock is still looking bright after the company officially transitioned from being an explorer (when all you do is spend money) to a producer (when you actually start selling your product and generating revenue) just a few months ago.

The 10-bagger ASX 200 lithium share is…

Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO).

The Core Lithium share price has gone from 8 cents on 4 December 2020 to 87 cents today.

So, the lithium stock is now worth more than 10 times its value just over two years ago.

It’s a 990% gain if you prefer percentage terms.

Let’s compare this performance with other ASX 200 lithium shares over the same time frame.

• Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price up 462% from 71 cents then to $3.99 now
• Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE) share price up 204% from $3.97 then to $12.08 now
• IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO) share price up 153% from $5.04 then to $12.79 now
• Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN) share price up 133% from $34.56 then to $80.79 now.

Core Lithium has actually traded at a much higher price than where it is today.

The Core Lithium share price hit a peak of $1.88 in November 2022.

So, at that point Core Lithium had achieved a 2,250% gain in less than two years. And it still hadn’t made a cent from lithium sales yet!

The dubious prize of the most shorted lithium share

Could this gigantic gain explain why Core Lithium is the most shorted ASX 200 lithium share today?

From the data above, we can see some disproportionate market exuberance over ASX 200 lithium shares compared to its peers.

To clarify, short selling is where professional traders try to profit from a fall in the share price. They borrow the shares and sell them with the intention of buying them back later, when they fall, to make a profit.

About 10% of Core Lithium’s outstanding shares are currently shorted.

This is up from 1.7% this time last year when the stock was trading lower than where it is today — in the low 80-cent range.

So why do the pros think this ASX 200 lithium share is overvalued?

Where is Core Lithium at in its development?

Core Lithium is a small-cap ASX 200 lithium share with a market capitalisation of $1.6 billion.

In its 1H FY23 results released this month, Core Lithium reported a $9.2 million loss.

The company sent its first shipment of lithium — worth about $20 million — to China in January. This was Core Lithium’s first revenue event.

As my Fool colleague Brooke recovered, the company achieved its first spodumene concentrate production in late February.

In early March, drilling results led to a more than doubling of the mineral resource estimate at the BP33 deposit within the broader flagship Finniss Lithium Project.

Then came a milestone sales agreement last week.

What do the experts say about the Core Lithium share price?

Well, earlier this month, Macquarie was optimistic on the Core Lithium share price. It maintained an outperform rating on the ASX 200 lithium share with an upgraded 12-month price target of $1.50.

The price target upgrade came after Core Lithium upgraded its resource estimate for Finniss.

Goldman Sachs retained its sell rating and a 90-cent share price target following the same news.

It said BP33’s upgrade only boosted the Finniss project’s total mineral resource estimate by between 20% to 30%. It also noted that more than half of the extra resources are more than 400 metres deep.

The broker said:

A significant increase to the updated resource base remains required to underpin fundamental valuation, in our view, where new developments are unlikely to come online in time to benefit from the current pricing environment.

The post Which ASX 200 lithium share has been a 10-bagger in two years? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Attention lithium investors: This ASX 200 mining billionaire says Australia could become a battery chemical manufacturing powerhouse
• Short interest in Core Lithium shares is growing. Is this a red flag?
• Which ASX lithium shares could be at risk of a short attack?
• Is the lithium price now on the way back up?
• Why the outlook for ASX lithium shares could be ‘very favourable’

Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has positions in Allkem, Core Lithium, and Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Goldman Sachs Group. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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It has been another busy week for Australia’s top brokers. This has led to the release of a large number of broker notes.

Three broker buy ratings that you might want to know more about are summarised below. Here’s why brokers think these ASX shares are in the buy zone:

Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1)

According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts have retained their buy rating on this footwear focused retailer’s shares with an improved price target of $3.10. The broker believes that the market is underestimating the company’s full earnings potential. It highlights that this comprises an attractive distribution business, a set of vertically owned brands, and a portfolio of strong retail banners. Importantly, it continues to believe Accent is well protected from a potential slowdown in discretionary spend given its exposure to a younger consumer and performance footwear. The Accent share price is trading at $2.34 this afternoon.

Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE)

A note out of Morgans reveals that its analysts have retained their add rating on this lithium miner’s shares with a slightly trimmed price target of $15.10. The broker believes that Allkem could be an attractive takeover target in the lithium industry. This is due to its cheap valuation and significant lithium resource. The Allkem share price is fetching $11.96 today.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

Analysts at Citi have retained their buy rating on this lithium miner’s shares with a modestly reduced price target of $4.60. This follows news that the company’s board has approved the expansion of its spodumene production to 1 million tonnes per annum. And while the costs are more than it was expecting, it isn’t overly surprised in the current inflationary environment. The Pilbara Minerals share price is trading at $3.98 this afternoon.

The post Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• ‘Sky-high demand’: 2 ASX 200 mining shares that could head to the moon
• 7 ASX dividend shares you can buy for under $10
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• Attention lithium investors: This ASX 200 mining billionaire says Australia could become a battery chemical manufacturing powerhouse
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Thursday

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Allkem. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Accent Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price has performed well in March 2023, rising by 4% over the month at the time of writing. That compares to a fall of around 1% in the past month for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

The ASX 200 is made up of a number of businesses including BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) and numerous ASX bank shares.

What happened to the ASX 200?

With banks playing such a large role in the ASX 200, any worries about the banking sector can have a sizeable hit on the ASX 200.

At the time of writing, the banks are showing a sizeable decline over the last month, including the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price being down 2.6%, the National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) sliding being down 8%, the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price dropping 3.5%, the ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) share price being down 7% and the Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) share price falling 7.4%.

Combined, the ASX 200 banks had a bad month amid the difficulties for the banking sector in the US and Europe.

Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapsed, though depositors were saved and now First Citizens is buying the venture capitalist-focused bank.

Investment bank Credit Suisse was saved by UBS amid concerns about its operations.

While the bank share prices suffered over the month, ASX 200 banks have been telling investors that they are well-capitalised and can get through any difficulties.

Did anything specific impact the Wesfarmers share price?

The company may have seen some volatility amid the worries about contagion from the banking worries.

However, Wesfarmers isn’t a bank, so may not have been impacted as much.

Plus, the Wesfarmers share price continues to recover from the lows seen in 2022.

It didn’t announce anything that was market sensitive to investors this month, the FY23 half-year result was released last month. The business also went ex-dividend last month, so that wasn’t an impact on the Wesfarmers share price either.

But, the company did provide a presentation for its chemicals, energy and fertilisers (WesCEF) business where it outlined its portfolio of “complementary businesses” with “clear competitive advantages”.

Wesfarmers pointed out that these businesses have achieved “market-leading performance”, with “continuous productivity improvements”.

It also pointed out that it has a track record of “successful expansion through incremental investment with significant further opportunities providing a pipeline for growth”.

WesCEF also has “major project and chemical processing experience that can be leveraged into emerging sectors” such as lithium. The company is currently working on the Mt Holland lithium project.

Wesfarmers share price snapshot

Since the start of 2023, the business has risen by around 10%.

The post Why did the Wesfarmers share price outperform the ASX 200 in March? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 2 high quality blue chip ASX 200 shares named as buys by analysts
• $1,600 annual dividend income from a $20,000 ASX share portfolio? Here’s how
• How to make passive income for life with just $5 a day
• Is time running out to buy high-yield ASX dividend shares?
• The whopper Wesfarmers dividend is being paid today. Here’s what you need to know

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended CSL. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Macquarie Group and Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Westpac Banking. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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