Investors Buy Large Volume of Lithium Americas Call Options (NYSE:LAC)

Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors bought 32,234 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 61% compared to the typical volume of 20,062 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on LAC shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Lithium Americas in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lithium Americas from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. TD Securities raised shares of Lithium Americas to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lithium Americas in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Lithium Americas from $7.00 to $5.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $5.56.

Lithium Americas Price Performance

Shares of LAC stock opened at $4.38 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.51 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a quick ratio of 5.16, a current ratio of 5.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Lithium Americas has a 12-month low of $2.47 and a 12-month high of $10.52. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $4.45 and a 200-day moving average of $5.27.

Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The company reported ($0.37) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.33). On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lithium Americas will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithium Americas

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Traynor Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Lithium Americas by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,449 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 2,046 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Lithium Americas by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 16,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 2,183 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in Lithium Americas by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 16,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 2,321 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in Lithium Americas by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 67,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 2,356 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Lithium Americas by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 322,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,405,000 after purchasing an additional 2,491 shares during the period.

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.