Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAR) Upgraded at HSBC

Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAR) was upgraded by analysts at HSBC from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage presently has a $9.60 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $4.75. HSBC’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 17.07% from the company’s previous close.

LAR has been the subject of several other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Lithium Americas (Argentina) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $8.30 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) from $6.00 to $8.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. National Bankshares boosted their price target on Lithium Americas (Argentina) from $4.75 to $6.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Lithium Americas (Argentina) from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $4.25 to $7.75 in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lithium Americas (Argentina) presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $7.44.

Lithium Americas (Argentina) Stock Performance

Lithium Americas (Argentina) stock traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $8.20. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,559,313 shares. Lithium Americas has a 12 month low of $1.71 and a 12 month high of $8.67. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.20. The company has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.40.

Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by ($0.01). As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lithium Americas will post -0.05 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithium Americas (Argentina)

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lithium Americas (Argentina) in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. Sage Investment Counsel LLC bought a new position in Lithium Americas (Argentina) during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Lithium Americas (Argentina) by 45.3% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 3,552 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 49.17% of the company’s stock.

Lithium Americas (Argentina) Company Profile

Lithium Americas (Argentina) is a subsidiary of Lithium Americas Corp. focused on the exploration, development and production of lithium brine resources in the Jujuy province of northwest Argentina. The company’s principal asset is the Cauchari-Olaroz project, situated within the Lithium Triangle, one of the world’s richest regions for lithium-bearing brines. Through its Argentine operations, Lithium Americas aims to supply battery-grade lithium carbonate critical to electric vehicle and energy-storage markets.

The Cauchari-Olaroz project encompasses concessions on the Salar de Cauchari and Salar de Olaroz salt flats, where detailed drilling programs and pilot‐scale evaporation ponds have demonstrated favorable lithium concentrations.