Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) Shares Down 2.6% on Analyst Downgrade

Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC) shares dropped 2.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded the stock from a speculative buy rating to a sell rating. The company traded as low as $6.63 and last traded at $6.86. Approximately 75,386,625 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 577% from the average daily volume of 11,136,464 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.04.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on LAC. Cormark upgraded shares of Lithium Americas to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Lithium Americas from $5.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. TD Securities lowered shares of Lithium Americas from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $5.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Lithium Americas from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $5.00 price objective on shares of Lithium Americas in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $5.08.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LAC. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of Lithium Americas by 3,173.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 846,998 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,266,000 after buying an additional 821,120 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Lithium Americas by 38.0% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,666,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,466,000 after purchasing an additional 459,252 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Lithium Americas in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,057,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Lithium Americas by 44.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,046,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,836,000 after purchasing an additional 324,518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Decade Renewable Partners LP raised its stake in Lithium Americas by 51.7% in the 1st quarter. Decade Renewable Partners LP now owns 680,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,843,000 after purchasing an additional 231,900 shares during the last quarter.

Lithium Americas Stock Down 2.6%

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $3.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.01. The stock has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.80 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 9.88, a quick ratio of 9.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

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

About Lithium Americas

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.