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

Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $5.76, but opened at $6.00. Lithium Americas shares last traded at $5.7350, with a volume of 5,894,254 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LAC. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $5.00 price objective on shares of Lithium Americas in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Cowen downgraded shares of Lithium Americas from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Lithium Americas from $3.50 to $5.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Lithium Americas from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.81.

Lithium Americas Trading Down 3.2%

The stock has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.59 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 3.77 and a quick ratio of 3.77. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $5.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.51.

Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.03. On average, research analysts expect that Lithium Americas Corp. will post -0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithium Americas

In related news, SVP Edward Grandy sold 6,183 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 135,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $609,597. This represents a 4.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 10,960 shares of company stock worth $49,372 over the last 90 days. 1.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lithium Americas

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Lithium Americas in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new position in Lithium Americas during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. IHT Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lithium Americas during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lithium Americas in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000.

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.