Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) Stock Price Down 1.6% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC) fell 1.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $4.32 and last traded at $4.34. 8,632,415 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 15,828,331 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.41.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LAC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Lithium Americas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Lithium Americas from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $5.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Cowen cut Lithium Americas from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Lithium Americas from $3.50 to $5.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank raised Lithium Americas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lithium Americas has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $5.33.

Lithium Americas Stock Down 1.6%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.13 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 3.77 and a current ratio of 3.77. The business’s 50-day moving average is $5.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.31.

Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.03. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lithium Americas Corp. will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Edward Grandy sold 6,183 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.50, for a total value of $27,823.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,960 shares of company stock worth $49,372. Insiders own 1.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Lithium Americas by 158.1% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,479,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,679,000 after buying an additional 8,868,971 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Lithium Americas by 1,188.3% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,307,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,885,000 after acquiring an additional 3,050,405 shares during the last quarter. Old West Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lithium Americas in the third quarter valued at approximately $7,647,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Lithium Americas by 3,173.0% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 846,998 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,266,000 after acquiring an additional 821,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Lithium Americas by 44.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,405,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,736,000 after buying an additional 739,007 shares during the last quarter.

About Lithium Americas

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.