Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) Trading Up 6.8% – What’s Next?

Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC)’s stock price rose 6.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $5.97 and last traded at $5.7570. Approximately 26,995,916 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 61% from the average daily volume of 16,744,211 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.39.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LAC has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Lithium Americas from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $5.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Wedbush lifted their price target on Lithium Americas from $5.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Lithium Americas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Lithium Americas from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $5.00 target price on shares of Lithium Americas in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.81.

Lithium Americas Stock Up 6.8%

The company has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.48 and a beta of 1.57. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $4.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.47. The company has a current ratio of 3.77, a quick ratio of 3.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.03. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lithium Americas Corp. will post -0.12 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Edward Grandy sold 6,183 shares of Lithium Americas stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.50, for a total value of $27,823.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 135,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $609,597. The trade was a 4.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,960 shares of company stock valued at $49,372. 1.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lithium Americas

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Lithium Americas by 158.1% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,479,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,679,000 after purchasing an additional 8,868,971 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Lithium Americas by 1,188.3% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,307,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,885,000 after purchasing an additional 3,050,405 shares during the last quarter. Old West Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lithium Americas in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,647,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Lithium Americas by 3,173.0% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 846,998 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,266,000 after buying an additional 821,120 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Lithium Americas by 44.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,405,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,736,000 after buying an additional 739,007 shares during the period.

About Lithium Americas

Lithium Americas Corp. is a Vancouver‐based resource company focused on the development of lithium projects to support the global transition to electric vehicles and renewable energy storage. The company specializes in advancing lithium brine and claystone assets through feasibility studies, environmental permitting and engineering design. Its technical teams work to produce high‐purity lithium chemicals, including lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, for battery manufacturers worldwide.

Lithium Americas’ two flagship projects are the Cauchari‐Olaroz lithium brine operation in Jujuy Province, Argentina—developed in partnership with Ganfeng Lithium—and the Thacker Pass lithium clay deposit in northern Nevada, United States.