Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) Stock Price Up 9.3% – What’s Next?

Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC)’s stock price traded up 9.3% on Friday . The company traded as high as $4.77 and last traded at $4.7650. 11,663,019 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 11% from the average session volume of 10,552,636 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.36.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $5.00 target price on shares of Lithium Americas in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on Lithium Americas from $5.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Lithium Americas from $3.50 to $5.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Lithium Americas from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lithium Americas in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lithium Americas currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.33.

Lithium Americas Stock Up 9.3%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $5.03 and a 200-day moving average of $4.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.54 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 3.77, a quick ratio of 3.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

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

Insider Activity at Lithium Americas

In other news, SVP Edward Grandy sold 6,183 shares of Lithium Americas stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 135,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $609,597. This trade represents a 4.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 10,960 shares of company stock valued at $49,372 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.11% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithium Americas

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 8,868,971 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Lithium Americas by 1,188.3% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,307,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,885,000 after acquiring an additional 3,050,405 shares in the last quarter. Old West Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lithium Americas in the 3rd quarter worth about $7,647,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in 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 period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake 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 in the last quarter.

Lithium Americas Company Profile

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.