Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) Trading 2.7% Higher – Should You Buy?

Shares of Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC) rose 2.7% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $5.07 and last traded at $5.00. Approximately 11,701,984 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 2% from the average daily volume of 11,939,676 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.87.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LAC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Lithium Americas in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lithium Americas from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Wedbush initiated coverage on shares of Lithium Americas in a report on Monday, April 20th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $8.00 price objective on the stock. TD Securities upgraded shares of Lithium Americas to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Lithium Americas from $7.00 to $5.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lithium Americas has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.56.

Lithium Americas Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $4.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 5.16 and a current ratio of 7.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.76 billion, a PE ratio of -12.20 and a beta of 2.50.

Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $0.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.07. As a group, equities analysts expect that Lithium Americas Corp. will post -0.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LAC. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Lithium Americas by 158.1% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,479,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,679,000 after buying an additional 8,868,971 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Lithium Americas by 1,188.3% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,307,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,885,000 after buying an additional 3,050,405 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Lithium Americas by 212.7% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,062,306 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,349,000 after buying an additional 2,082,891 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in Lithium Americas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,055,000. Finally, Old West Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Lithium Americas in the third quarter valued at approximately $7,647,000.

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.