Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) Shares Down 8.2% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC) fell 8.2% during trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $1.70 and last traded at $1.7350. 3,313,164 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 10,635,920 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.89.

Trending Headlines about Lithium Americas

These are some of the LAC headlines that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: The company reported that its third-quarter loss per share narrowed, with results beating analysts’ consensus estimate, and highlighted a strong cash position. Article: Lithium Americas Reports Q3 Results and Strong Cash Position
• Neutral Sentiment: Call-option trading was unusually active, with 14,910 calls purchased—about 80% above the average daily volume. This signals increased trading interest but does not establish the direction of future shares.
• Negative Sentiment: The main headwind is a 31% increase in Thacker Pass Phase 1’s estimated capital cost, to $3.83 billion from $2.93 billion—an additional $900 million. The higher budget raises funding and project-return concerns, helping explain the recent weakness in LAC shares despite the continued construction timeline. Article: Lithium Americas raises Thacker Pass cost estimate by 31%

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on LAC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Lithium Americas in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $6.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lithium Americas from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Lithium Americas from a “hold” rating to a “speculative buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lithium Americas in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $3.50 price objective on shares of Lithium Americas in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $5.25.

Lithium Americas Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $589.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.39 and a beta of 2.74. The company has a quick ratio of 5.47, a current ratio of 5.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a 50 day moving average of $2.42 and a 200 day moving average of $3.78.

Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by ($0.02). As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lithium Americas Corp. will post -0.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithium Americas

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in Lithium Americas by 37.2% in the 3rd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 510,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,345,000 after acquiring an additional 138,459 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance bought a new stake in shares of Lithium Americas in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its stake in Lithium Americas by 666.2% during the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 23,002 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its position in Lithium Americas by 62.9% in the third quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 42,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 16,417 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Lithium Americas by 2,002.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 29,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 28,035 shares during the period.

Lithium Americas Company Profile

Lithium Americas Corp. is a Canadian company focused on developing lithium resources in North America. Its principal project is Thacker Pass, a lithium deposit in Humboldt County, Nevada, where the company plans to mine and process lithium-bearing claystone. The planned operation is designed to produce lithium carbonate for use in electric-vehicle batteries and energy storage systems. The project is intended to serve the North American battery supply chain; Lithium Americas is developing the resource rather than operating it as a producing mine.