Zacks Research Upgrades Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAR) to “Hold”

Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAR) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

LAR has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) from $10.00 to $9.50 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $8.57.

Lithium Americas (Argentina) Stock Performance

LAR opened at $6.84 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $7.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.91. Lithium Americas has a 52 week low of $2.97 and a 52 week high of $12.05.

Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.04). During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.03) earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lithium Americas will post 0.2 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithium Americas (Argentina)

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. VectorGlobal IAG Inc. purchased a new position in Lithium Americas (Argentina) in the first quarter valued at about $100,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) by 45.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 669,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,475,000 after buying an additional 209,252 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) by 62.4% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 61,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $414,000 after buying an additional 23,787 shares during the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) in the 1st quarter valued at about $756,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) in the 1st quarter valued at about $5,328,000. 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.