Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Shares of Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC) gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $6.13, but opened at $6.52. Lithium Americas shares last traded at $6.1720, with a volume of 8,673,853 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on LAC. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Lithium Americas from $3.50 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Scotiabank increased their price target on Lithium Americas from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Lithium Americas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lithium Americas in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Lithium Americas from $5.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lithium Americas presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.81.

Lithium Americas Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.12 and a beta of 1.57. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.67. The company has a quick ratio of 3.77, a current ratio of 3.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.03. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lithium Americas Corp. will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Edward Grandy sold 6,183 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.50, for a total value of $27,823.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 135,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $609,597. This trade represents a 4.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,960 shares of company stock valued at $49,372. 1.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lithium Americas

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LAC. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Lithium Americas by 86.1% during the second quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 9,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 4,580 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Lithium Americas during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new position in Lithium Americas during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. IHT Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Lithium Americas during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lithium Americas in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000.

Lithium Americas Company Profile

Lithium Americas Corp. is a Vancouver‐based resource company focused on the development of lithium projects to support the global transition to electric vehicles and renewable energy storage. The company specializes in advancing lithium brine and claystone assets through feasibility studies, environmental permitting and engineering design. Its technical teams work to produce high‐purity lithium chemicals, including lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, for battery manufacturers worldwide.

Lithium Americas’ two flagship projects are the Cauchari‐Olaroz lithium brine operation in Jujuy Province, Argentina—developed in partnership with Ganfeng Lithium—and the Thacker Pass lithium clay deposit in northern Nevada, United States.