Zacks Research Downgrades Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAR) to Hold

Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAR) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. TD Securities lifted their price objective on Lithium Americas (Argentina) from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Lithium Americas (Argentina) from $8.50 to $11.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen raised Lithium Americas (Argentina) from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) in a report on Monday, March 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lithium Americas (Argentina) currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $8.13.

Lithium Americas (Argentina) Stock Performance

Shares of LAR stock opened at $8.08 on Tuesday. Lithium Americas has a 52-week low of $1.90 and a 52-week high of $12.05. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $9.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.52.

Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.07). As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Lithium Americas will post 0.29 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithium Americas (Argentina)

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Lithium Americas (Argentina) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,251,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,202,000 after buying an additional 657,087 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Lithium Americas (Argentina) by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 4,786,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,975,000 after buying an additional 408,065 shares in the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP lifted its stake in Lithium Americas (Argentina) by 102.1% in the 3rd quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 4,200,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,029,000 after buying an additional 2,122,035 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Lithium Americas (Argentina) by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,332,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,790,000 after buying an additional 133,572 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Lithium Americas (Argentina) by 441.1% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,200,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,281,000 after buying an additional 1,793,994 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.17% of the company’s stock.

Lithium Americas (Argentina) Company Profile

Lithium Americas (Argentina) is a subsidiary of Lithium Americas Corp. focused on the exploration, development and production of lithium brine resources in the Jujuy province of northwest Argentina. The company’s principal asset is the Cauchari-Olaroz project, situated within the Lithium Triangle, one of the world’s richest regions for lithium-bearing brines. Through its Argentine operations, Lithium Americas aims to supply battery-grade lithium carbonate critical to electric vehicle and energy-storage markets.

The Cauchari-Olaroz project encompasses concessions on the Salar de Cauchari and Salar de Olaroz salt flats, where detailed drilling programs and pilot‐scale evaporation ponds have demonstrated favorable lithium concentrations.