Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) Trading Up 3.2% – Here’s What Happened

Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC) traded up 3.2% on Monday . The company traded as high as $5.10 and last traded at $4.90. 10,667,958 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 33% from the average session volume of 16,002,184 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.75.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on LAC shares. Scotiabank raised Lithium Americas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Lithium Americas from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. TD Securities downgraded shares of Lithium Americas from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $5.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Lithium Americas from $3.50 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Cormark raised shares of Lithium Americas from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.33.

Lithium Americas Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.55 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $5.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 3.77 and a quick ratio of 3.77.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Edward Grandy sold 6,183 shares of Lithium Americas 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 owned 135,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $609,597. The trade was a 4.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Alexi Illya Zawadzki sold 353,914 shares of the business’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 value of $3,355,104.72. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 40,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,247.40. This represents a 89.84% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 364,874 shares of company stock valued at $3,404,477. 1.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LAC. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 8,868,971 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $18,885,000 after purchasing an additional 3,050,405 shares during 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 lifted its stake in Lithium Americas by 3,173.0% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 846,998 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,266,000 after purchasing an additional 821,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Lithium Americas by 44.3% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,405,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,736,000 after purchasing an additional 739,007 shares during 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.