Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) Stock Price Down 1.3% – Here’s What Happened

Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC)’s share price traded down 1.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $4.54 and last traded at $4.55. 20,617,555 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 27% from the average session volume of 16,193,458 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.61.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on LAC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Lithium Americas from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $5.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group cut Lithium Americas from a “speculative buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Lithium Americas from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $5.00 price objective on shares of Lithium Americas in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Wedbush upped their target price on Lithium Americas from $5.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.30.

Lithium Americas Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $5.48 and a 200 day moving average of $3.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 9.88 and a current ratio of 9.88. The firm has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.26 and a beta of 1.41.

Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.02). On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lithium Americas Corp. will post -0.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithium Americas

In other news, VP Alexi Illya Zawadzki sold 353,914 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 40,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $379,247.40. This trade represents a 89.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Lithium Americas by 44.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,046,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,836,000 after purchasing an additional 324,518 shares during the period. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithium Americas by 18.1% during the second quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,012,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,714,000 after buying an additional 155,068 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. acquired a new position in Lithium Americas in the first quarter valued at approximately $277,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Lithium Americas in the first quarter valued at approximately $504,000. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Lithium Americas by 94.2% in the first quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 277,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $753,000 after acquiring an additional 134,735 shares during 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.