Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC) shares gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $6.13, but opened at $6.52. Lithium Americas shares last traded at $6.1720, with a volume of 8,673,853 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LAC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Lithium Americas from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $5.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Lithium Americas from $5.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $5.00 target price on shares of Lithium Americas in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Lithium Americas from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Lithium Americas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.81.

Lithium Americas Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 3.77 and a current ratio of 3.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a PE ratio of -6.21 and a beta of 1.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $5.16 and a 200-day moving average of $4.63.

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

Insider Activity at Lithium Americas

In other news, SVP Edward Grandy sold 6,183 shares of the 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 directly owned 135,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $609,597. This represents a 4.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold 10,960 shares of company stock valued at $49,372 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithium Americas

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Lithium Americas by 158.1% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,479,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,679,000 after acquiring an additional 8,868,971 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Lithium Americas by 1,188.3% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,307,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,885,000 after purchasing an additional 3,050,405 shares in the last quarter. Old West Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lithium Americas during the third quarter worth $7,647,000. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of Lithium Americas by 3,173.0% during the second 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. lifted its position in Lithium Americas by 44.3% in 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.

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.