Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) was upgraded by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $5.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 8.46% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on LAC. Cormark cut shares of Lithium Americas from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lithium Americas in a research note on Friday, October 31st. TD Securities cut shares of Lithium Americas from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $5.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Scotiabank restated a “sector underperform” rating and issued a $5.00 price objective (up previously from $2.75) on shares of Lithium Americas in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Lithium Americas from $5.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $5.30.

Lithium Americas Price Performance

Shares of Lithium Americas stock opened at $4.61 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 9.88 and a quick ratio of 9.88. Lithium Americas has a fifty-two week low of $2.31 and a fifty-two week high of $10.52. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $5.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.73. The company has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of -20.04 and a beta of 1.41.

Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.02). Analysts expect that Lithium Americas will post -0.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Alexi Illya Zawadzki sold 353,914 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.48, for a total transaction of $3,355,104.72. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 40,005 shares in the company, valued at $379,247.40. This trade represents a 89.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithium Americas

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Lithium Americas by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,755,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,350,000 after acquiring an additional 45,941 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Lithium Americas by 38.0% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,666,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,466,000 after acquiring an additional 459,252 shares in the last quarter. Old West Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lithium Americas in the 3rd quarter valued at about $7,647,000. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Lithium Americas by 26.6% in the 3rd quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,281,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,319,000 after acquiring an additional 268,918 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Lithium Americas by 44.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,046,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,836,000 after acquiring an additional 324,518 shares in the last quarter.

About Lithium Americas

Lithium Americas Corp. engages in the exploration and development of lithium properties in the United States and Canada. It holds a 100% interest in the Thacker Pass project located in northern Nevada, as well as investments in exploration properties in the United States and Canada. Lithium Americas Corp.