Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) Shares Up 7.1% – What’s Next?

Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC)’s share price was up 7.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $5.63 and last traded at $5.6350. Approximately 19,280,995 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 19% from the average daily volume of 16,264,127 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LAC. Cowen downgraded Lithium Americas from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Lithium Americas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. TD Securities lowered Lithium Americas from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $5.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lithium Americas in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of Lithium Americas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lithium Americas has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.33.

Lithium Americas Stock Up 7.1%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of -5.37 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.94. The company has a quick ratio of 3.77, a current ratio of 3.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) last posted 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. Analysts forecast that Lithium Americas Corp. will post -0.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Alexi Illya Zawadzki sold 353,914 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 40,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,247.40. This represents a 89.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Edward Grandy sold 6,183 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.50, for a total transaction of $27,823.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 135,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $609,597. This trade represents a 4.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 364,874 shares of company stock valued at $3,404,477 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithium Americas

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Lithium Americas in the third quarter worth $28,000. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lithium Americas by 86.1% during the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 9,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 4,580 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Lithium Americas during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Lithium Americas in the 3rd quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, Gainplan LLC bought a new position in Lithium Americas in the 3rd quarter worth about $58,000.

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.