Traders Buy Large Volume of Lithium Americas (Argentina) Call Options (NYSE:LAR)

Lithium Americas (Argentina) Corp. (NYSE:LAR) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Investors purchased 6,981 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 188% compared to the average daily volume of 2,428 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on LAR shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Scotiabank raised shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $4.25 to $7.75 in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $8.30 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday. National Bankshares increased their price objective on shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) from $4.75 to $6.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) from $6.00 to $8.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $7.01.

Lithium Americas (Argentina) Stock Performance

LAR traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $8.37. The company had a trading volume of 5,445,018 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,750,636. Lithium Americas has a 12-month low of $1.71 and a 12-month high of $8.67. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $5.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.07. The stock has a market cap of $1.36 billion and a PE ratio of -16.74.

Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.01). On average, research analysts anticipate that Lithium Americas will post -0.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) by 2.3% in the third quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 128,053 shares of the company’s stock worth $428,000 after purchasing an additional 2,940 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its position in Lithium Americas (Argentina) by 3.0% during the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 103,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Lithium Americas (Argentina) by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 26,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 3,214 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) by 45.3% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 3,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 54,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 3,575 shares during the last quarter. 49.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Lithium Americas (Argentina)

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.