Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) Upgraded to Neutral at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) from an underweight rating to a neutral rating in a research note released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $5.00 price objective on the stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $5.00 target price on shares of Lithium Americas in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded Lithium Americas from a “speculative buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. TD Securities cut Lithium Americas from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $5.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Lithium Americas from $5.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lithium Americas in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lithium Americas currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.30.

Lithium Americas Stock Performance

Lithium Americas stock opened at $4.55 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 9.88 and a quick ratio of 9.88. Lithium Americas has a 12 month low of $2.31 and a 12 month high of $10.52. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $5.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.73. The company has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of -19.78 and a beta of 1.41.

Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.02). Research analysts expect that Lithium Americas will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Lithium Americas

In related news, VP Alexi Illya Zawadzki sold 353,914 shares of Lithium Americas stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.48, for a total transaction of $3,355,104.72. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 40,005 shares in the company, valued at $379,247.40. The trade was a 89.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.11% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithium Americas

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Traynor Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Lithium Americas by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,449 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 2,046 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lithium Americas by 33.9% during the second quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 4,200 shares during the period. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Lithium Americas by 0.6% during the first quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 735,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,994,000 after purchasing an additional 4,445 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in Lithium Americas by 86.1% in the second quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 9,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 4,580 shares during the period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in Lithium Americas by 32.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 24,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 6,164 shares in the last quarter.

About Lithium Americas

Lithium Americas Corp. engages in the exploration and development of lithium properties in the United States and Canada. It holds a 100% interest in the Thacker Pass project located in northern Nevada, as well as investments in exploration properties in the United States and Canada. Lithium Americas Corp.