Sydney, Feb 7, 2026, 17:15 AEDT — Market closed
- PLS Group ended Friday at A$4.12 a share, slipping 1.2% for the day and logging roughly a 5% drop across the last two sessions.
- Fresh filings revealed Morgan Stanley and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group have boosted their declared voting stakes in the lithium miner.
- Lithium prices, risk sentiment, and PLS’s Feb. 19 interim numbers—those are front and center for investors on Monday.
PLS Group Limited slipped another 1.2% to A$4.12 by Friday’s close, building on Thursday’s 3.7% slide as volumes surged. The shares have come under steady pressure across two sessions, despite a flurry of large-holder disclosures late in the week. 1
Why now? Australian shares just saw their steepest slide in months—“panic” chatter is swirling once again, and miners led the retreat. Lithium prices slipped on Friday, a blow for battery-material stocks and their backers. 2
Morgan Stanley and its subsidiaries bumped up their reported voting power in PLS to 8.37%, up from 7.04%, according to a fresh filing reflecting changes as of Feb. 2. Holdings outlined in the notice spanned ordinary shares as well as options, with specifics on transactions linked to securities lending and derivatives arrangements.
In another filing, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. disclosed that its voting power increased to 9.23%, up from 7.90% in its previous notice, with both figures linked to changes as of Feb. 2. The notice detailed stakes held via First Sentier and pointed out interests connected to Morgan Stanley, given MUFG’s stake of over 20% in the U.S. bank.
Basically, these are “substantial holder” disclosures—regulatory filings that alert the market whenever a big investor’s voting power shifts in a listed company. ASIC says Form 604 serves to notify both the listed company and the relevant exchange about any change in a substantial holding. 3
PLS traders face these disclosures against a nervous global backdrop and a choppy materials tape. The latest filings lay out, with more clarity, just who’s carrying risk and who’s sitting on it as the market heads toward the next catalyst.
But here’s the snag: substantial-holder notices aren’t always about pure buying. They might show shifts in custody, stock loans, hedging, even internal shuffling. That distinction gets sharper when sentiment turns defensive. Thin liquidity or further drops in lithium prices could easily put the share price at risk.
Earnings are on deck. PLS is set to report its FY26 interim results Thursday, Feb. 19, with a webcast and investor call slated for that morning. The company emphasized its role as a lithium materials producer, highlighting assets in both Australia and Brazil.
Come Monday, eyes turn to possible fresh disclosures, with lithium prices in focus for signs of stabilisation. The broader sell-off could either cool off or pick up steam again. Feb. 19 remains the key date to watch.
