Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAR) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) Corp. (NYSE:LAR) gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $6.25, but opened at $6.52. Lithium Americas (Argentina) shares last traded at $6.6250, with a volume of 1,326,648 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on LAR. Scotiabank upgraded Lithium Americas (Argentina) from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $4.25 to $7.75 in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Lithium Americas (Argentina) from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) from $6.00 to $8.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, TD Securities boosted their price target on shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lithium Americas (Argentina) currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $7.66.

Lithium Americas (Argentina) Stock Up 6.5%

The company has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.07. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.67.

Institutional Trading of Lithium Americas (Argentina)

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LAR. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new position in Lithium Americas (Argentina) in the third quarter worth $481,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) by 119.3% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,594,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,045,000 after buying an additional 5,219,416 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in Lithium Americas (Argentina) by 15.3% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 136,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 18,096 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its position in Lithium Americas (Argentina) by 347.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 196,265 shares of the company’s stock worth $656,000 after buying an additional 152,386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP grew its holdings in Lithium Americas (Argentina) by 102.1% during the 3rd quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 4,200,238 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,029,000 after acquiring an additional 2,122,035 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.17% of the company’s stock.

About Lithium Americas (Argentina)

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.