Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) Stock Price Up 4.7% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC) traded up 4.7% on Monday . The company traded as high as $5.13 and last traded at $5.11. 20,908,518 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 29% from the average session volume of 16,244,909 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.88.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Lithium Americas from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered shares of Lithium Americas from a “speculative buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lithium Americas in a report on Friday, October 31st. Cowen lowered Lithium Americas from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Lithium Americas from $3.50 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $5.30.

Lithium Americas Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.22 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 9.88 and a current ratio of 9.88. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $5.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.76.

Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.02). Analysts forecast that Lithium Americas Corp. will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Alexi Illya Zawadzki sold 353,914 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.48, for a total value of $3,355,104.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 40,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $379,247.40. This represents a 89.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.11% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithium Americas

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Lithium Americas by 44.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,046,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,836,000 after buying an additional 324,518 shares in the last quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Lithium Americas by 18.1% in the second quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,012,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,714,000 after acquiring an additional 155,068 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. bought a new position in Lithium Americas during the 1st quarter valued at $277,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Lithium Americas during the 1st quarter worth $504,000. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Lithium Americas by 94.2% during the 1st quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 277,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $753,000 after acquiring an additional 134,735 shares in the last quarter.

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.