Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAR) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) Corp. (NYSE:LAR) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $7.82, but opened at $8.31. Lithium Americas (Argentina) shares last traded at $8.12, with a volume of 1,365,471 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on LAR shares. HSBC upgraded Lithium Americas (Argentina) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $4.75 to $9.60 in a research note on Monday, January 19th. TD Securities raised shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $4.25 to $7.75 in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $8.30 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Lithium Americas (Argentina) from $6.00 to $8.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lithium Americas (Argentina) currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $7.44.

Lithium Americas (Argentina) Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $7.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.13. The firm has a market cap of $1.31 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.10.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) during the 4th quarter worth approximately $138,000. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its position in Lithium Americas (Argentina) by 33.3% during the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 88,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 22,027 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) in the fourth quarter valued at about $304,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Lithium Americas (Argentina) in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $747,000. Finally, Old West Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $185,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.