Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) Stock Price Down 2.8% – What’s Next?

Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC)’s share price fell 2.8% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $4.68 and last traded at $4.7250. 7,847,095 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the average session volume of 15,899,234 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.86.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on LAC shares. Scotiabank raised Lithium Americas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Wedbush upped their price target on Lithium Americas from $5.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Lithium Americas from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Lithium Americas from $3.50 to $5.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Cormark raised shares of Lithium Americas from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.33.

Lithium Americas Trading Down 2.8%

The company has a quick ratio of 3.77, a current ratio of 3.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $5.26 and its 200-day moving average is $4.25. The company has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a PE ratio of -4.50 and a beta of 1.40.

Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.03. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lithium Americas Corp. will post -0.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Edward Grandy sold 6,183 shares of Lithium Americas stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 135,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $609,597. The trade was a 4.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Alexi Illya Zawadzki sold 353,914 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.48, for a total value of $3,355,104.72. Following the sale, the vice president owned 40,005 shares in the company, valued at $379,247.40. The trade was a 89.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 364,874 shares of company stock valued at $3,404,477. Company insiders own 1.11% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithium Americas

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