Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAR) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) Corp. (NYSE:LAR) gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $8.29, but opened at $7.66. Lithium Americas (Argentina) shares last traded at $7.93, with a volume of 1,514,958 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LAR. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $8.30 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday. National Bankshares boosted their price objective on Lithium Americas (Argentina) from $4.75 to $6.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Scotiabank raised shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $4.25 to $7.75 in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) from $6.00 to $8.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $7.01.

Lithium Americas (Argentina) Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion and a PE ratio of -16.26.

Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.01). As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lithium Americas will post -0.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Lithium Americas (Argentina)

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Lithium Americas (Argentina) in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Lithium Americas (Argentina) during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. bought a new position in Lithium Americas (Argentina) in the second quarter worth $37,000. Sage Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in Lithium Americas (Argentina) during the third quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) by 45.3% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 3,552 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.17% of the company’s stock.

Lithium Americas (Argentina) Company Profile

Lithium Americas (Argentina) is a subsidiary of Lithium Americas Corp. focused on the exploration, development and production of lithium brine resources in the Jujuy province of northwest Argentina. The company’s principal asset is the Cauchari-Olaroz project, situated within the Lithium Triangle, one of the world’s richest regions for lithium-bearing brines. Through its Argentine operations, Lithium Americas aims to supply battery-grade lithium carbonate critical to electric vehicle and energy-storage markets.

The Cauchari-Olaroz project encompasses concessions on the Salar de Cauchari and Salar de Olaroz salt flats, where detailed drilling programs and pilot‐scale evaporation ponds have demonstrated favorable lithium concentrations.