Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) Trading Down 6.3% Following Insider Selling

Shares of Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC) fell 6.3% on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $8.44 and last traded at $8.47. 88,456,822 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 608% from the average session volume of 12,495,799 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.04.

Specifically, VP Alexi Illya Zawadzki sold 353,914 shares of Lithium Americas stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 40,005 shares in the company, valued at $379,247.40. The trade was a 89.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LAC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Lithium Americas in a report on Saturday, September 27th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Lithium Americas from $3.50 to $5.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded Lithium Americas from a “speculative buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Cormark lowered Lithium Americas from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank reissued a “sector underperform” rating and issued a $5.00 price target (up previously from $2.75) on shares of Lithium Americas in a report on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lithium Americas currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.33.

Lithium Americas Trading Down 6.3%

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 9.88 and a current ratio of 9.88. The firm has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a PE ratio of -36.82 and a beta of 1.43.

Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.02). Analysts expect that Lithium Americas Corp. will post -0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Lithium Americas

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LAC. UMB Bank n.a. acquired a new position in Lithium Americas during the first quarter valued at $373,000. Members Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lithium Americas in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Matauro LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lithium Americas in the 1st quarter valued at about $46,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lithium Americas in the first quarter worth about $73,000. Finally, Hartmann Taylor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lithium Americas during the first quarter worth about $33,000.

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.