Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) Stock Price Up 2.5% Following Analyst Upgrade

Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC) shares shot up 2.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded the stock from a sell rating to a hold rating. The stock traded as high as $5.43 and last traded at $5.1150. 24,342,747 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 50% from the average session volume of 16,279,152 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.99.

LAC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Scotiabank upgraded Lithium Americas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $5.00 price target on shares of Lithium Americas in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lithium Americas in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Lithium Americas from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Cormark lowered shares of Lithium Americas from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.33.

Insider Transactions at Lithium Americas

In other Lithium Americas news, VP Alexi Illya Zawadzki sold 353,914 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was 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 directly owned 40,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,247.40. The trade was a 89.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Edward Grandy sold 6,183 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were 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 owned 135,466 shares in the company, valued at $609,597. The trade was a 4.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 364,860 shares of company stock worth $3,404,362 over the last ninety days. 1.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithium Americas

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 324,518 shares during the period. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lithium Americas by 18.1% in the 2nd quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,012,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,714,000 after buying an additional 155,068 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lithium Americas during the first quarter worth about $277,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Lithium Americas during the first quarter worth approximately $504,000. Finally, Decade Renewable Partners LP boosted its stake in Lithium Americas by 51.7% during the 1st quarter. Decade Renewable Partners LP now owns 680,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,843,000 after purchasing an additional 231,900 shares during the period.

Lithium Americas Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 9.88 and a current ratio of 3.77. The company has a 50-day moving average of $5.75 and a 200-day moving average of $3.86. The stock has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.87 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Lithium Americas Company Profile

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.