Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) Stock Price Up 7.5% on Analyst Upgrade

Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC)’s share price rose 7.5% during mid-day trading on Friday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded the stock from an underweight rating to a neutral rating. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now has a $5.00 price target on the stock. Lithium Americas traded as high as $4.93 and last traded at $4.8890. Approximately 21,866,810 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 35% from the average daily volume of 16,221,979 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.55.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on LAC. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $5.00 price objective on shares of Lithium Americas in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. TD Securities cut shares of Lithium Americas from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $5.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector underperform” rating and issued a $5.00 price target (up previously from $2.75) on shares of Lithium Americas in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut Lithium Americas from a “speculative buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Lithium Americas from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lithium Americas currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.30.

Insider Transactions at Lithium Americas

In related news, VP Alexi Illya Zawadzki sold 353,914 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.48, for a total value of $3,355,104.72. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 40,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,247.40. This represents a 89.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lithium Americas

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Traynor Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Lithium Americas by 19.7% during the third quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,449 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 2,046 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Lithium Americas by 33.9% during the second quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 4,200 shares in the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lithium Americas by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 735,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,994,000 after purchasing an additional 4,445 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lithium Americas by 86.1% during the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 9,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 4,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Lithium Americas by 32.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 24,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 6,164 shares in the last quarter.

Lithium Americas Trading Up 7.5%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $5.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of -21.26 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 9.88 and a current ratio of 9.88.

Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.02). Sell-side analysts predict that Lithium Americas Corp. will post -0.12 EPS for the current year.

Lithium Americas Company Profile

Lithium Americas Corp. engages in the exploration and development of lithium properties in the United States and Canada. It holds a 100% interest in the Thacker Pass project located in northern Nevada, as well as investments in exploration properties in the United States and Canada. Lithium Americas Corp.