Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) Shares Climb 8.9% Following Analyst Upgrade

Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC) shot up 8.9% on Thursday after Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a speculative buy rating. The company traded as high as $2.20 and last traded at $2.2550. Approximately 6,031,929 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 10,897,047 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.07.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lithium Americas in a report on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Lithium Americas in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $4.50 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Lithium Americas from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets set a $3.50 price objective on Lithium Americas in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Lithium Americas in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $6.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithium Americas

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lithium Americas by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC now owns 893,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,440,000 after acquiring an additional 33,475 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Lithium Americas by 229.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 565,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,231,000 after purchasing an additional 393,842 shares during the last quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lithium Americas by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC now owns 393,552 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,555,000 after purchasing an additional 27,134 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Lithium Americas by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 343,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,363,000 after purchasing an additional 35,131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Credit Industriel ET Commercial bought a new stake in shares of Lithium Americas in the 1st quarter worth $908,000.

Lithium Americas Stock Up 9.3%

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $2.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 5.47 and a quick ratio of 5.47. The stock has a market cap of $821.20 million, a PE ratio of -6.09 and a beta of 2.64.

Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.02. Analysts expect that Lithium Americas Corp. will post -0.07 EPS for the current year.

Lithium Americas Company Profile

Lithium Americas Corp. is a lithium development company focused on advancing domestic battery-materials production in North America. Its principal asset is the Thacker Pass lithium project in Humboldt County, Nevada, one of the largest known lithium deposits in the United States. The project is designed to produce battery-grade lithium carbonate for use in electric vehicle batteries and other energy-storage applications.

Thacker Pass is being developed in phases and is expected to use a processing method intended to recover lithium from sedimentary claystone.