Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Shares of Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC) gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $4.46, but opened at $4.62. Lithium Americas shares last traded at $4.8150, with a volume of 14,856,391 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Lithium Americas from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Cowen lowered Lithium Americas from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Lithium Americas from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $5.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Cormark lowered Lithium Americas from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Securities downgraded shares of Lithium Americas from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $5.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.33.

Lithium Americas Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 9.88, a current ratio of 3.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of -4.76 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $5.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.86.

Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.03. Research analysts expect that Lithium Americas Corp. will post -0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Edward Grandy sold 6,183 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.50, for a total value of $27,823.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 135,466 shares in the company, valued at $609,597. This represents a 4.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Alexi Illya Zawadzki sold 353,914 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.48, for a total transaction of $3,355,104.72. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 40,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,247.40. This represents a 89.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 364,860 shares of company stock worth $3,404,362 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lithium Americas

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Second Line Capital LLC purchased a new position in Lithium Americas during the third quarter valued at approximately $116,000. PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Lithium Americas in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $169,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Lithium Americas during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $603,000. Victory Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lithium Americas during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $169,000. Finally, Scientech Research LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lithium Americas in the 3rd quarter valued at $380,000.

About Lithium Americas

Lithium Americas Corp. engages in the exploration and development of lithium properties in the United States and Canada. It holds a 100% interest in the Thacker Pass project located in northern Nevada, as well as investments in exploration properties in the United States and Canada. Lithium Americas Corp.