Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) Sets New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday. The stock traded as low as $2.32 and last traded at $2.3150, with a volume of 287,207 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.35.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Lithium Americas Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $2.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.79. The firm has a market cap of $804.13 million, a PE ratio of -5.99 and a beta of 2.64. The company has a current ratio of 5.47, a quick ratio of 5.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

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

Institutional Trading of Lithium Americas

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in Lithium Americas by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 43,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 2,539 shares during the last quarter. J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Lithium Americas by 13.6% in the first quarter. J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. now owns 25,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Lithium Americas by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 39,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Lithium Americas by 5.2% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 75,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 3,728 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Lithium Americas by 65.8% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 6,286 shares during the period.

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.