Investors Purchase Large Volume of Lithium Americas Call Options (NYSE:LAC)

Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 52,309 call options on the company. This is an increase of 132% compared to the average volume of 22,521 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wedbush assumed coverage on shares of Lithium Americas in a research report on Monday, April 20th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $8.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Lithium Americas from $7.00 to $5.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lithium Americas from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Scotia reduced their target price on shares of Lithium Americas from $5.00 to $4.50 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 25th. Finally, TD Securities raised shares of Lithium Americas to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.56.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithium Americas

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LAC. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Lithium Americas by 44.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,046,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,836,000 after purchasing an additional 324,518 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Lithium Americas by 18.4% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 48,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 7,610 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Lithium Americas by 38.0% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,666,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,466,000 after purchasing an additional 459,252 shares during the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lithium Americas during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Lithium Americas during the 2nd quarter valued at about $105,000.

Lithium Americas Stock Up 4.0%

Lithium Americas stock traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $5.73. The stock had a trading volume of 17,727,460 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,868,750. The company has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.10 and a beta of 2.50. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $4.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.91. Lithium Americas has a one year low of $2.47 and a one year high of $10.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 7.36 and a quick ratio of 7.36.

Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $0.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.07. On average, analysts expect that Lithium Americas will post -0.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithium Americas Company Profile

Lithium Americas Corp. is a Vancouver‐based resource company focused on the development of lithium projects to support the global transition to electric vehicles and renewable energy storage. The company specializes in advancing lithium brine and claystone assets through feasibility studies, environmental permitting and engineering design. Its technical teams work to produce high‐purity lithium chemicals, including lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, for battery manufacturers worldwide.

Lithium Americas’ two flagship projects are the Cauchari‐Olaroz lithium brine operation in Jujuy Province, Argentina—developed in partnership with Ganfeng Lithium—and the Thacker Pass lithium clay deposit in northern Nevada, United States.