** Analysts at Jefferies increase price target for lithium miner Pilbara Minerals by 25% to A$3.40
** PLS said on Thursday it would buy smaller peer Latin Resources for an implied value of A$559.9 mln ($369.4 mln)
** Brokerage says they are supportive of diversification of growth options within PLS; reiterates "buy" rating
** Deal to give Pilbara control of Latin Resources' flagship Salinas Lithium project in Brazil, which Jefferies values at A$650 mln to A700 mln
** Salinas project holds the Colina deposit, which currently hosts 2.3 Mt lithium carbonate equivalent resources
** Jefferies says ongoing drilling and Pilbara's know-how is likely to see an increase in the resource size and project economics in the deposit
** Seven of 17 analysts rate the stock "buy" or higher, six "hold", four "sell"; median PT is A$3.08 - LSEG data
** Stock down about 30% YTD, as of last close
($1 = 1.5122 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by John Biju in Bengaluru)
((John.Biju@thomsonreuters.com;))
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