Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) Shares Down 6.6% – Here’s Why

Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC) shares traded down 6.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $4.74 and last traded at $4.7820. 20,814,559 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 28% from the average session volume of 16,301,135 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.12.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on LAC. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Lithium Americas from $3.50 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. 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 research report on Wednesday, September 24th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $5.00 target price on shares of Lithium Americas in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Lithium Americas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Securities cut shares of Lithium Americas from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $5.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.33.

Lithium Americas Trading Down 6.6%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.55 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $5.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.87. The company has a current ratio of 3.77, a quick ratio of 9.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Edward Grandy sold 6,183 shares of Lithium Americas 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 135,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $609,597. The trade was a 4.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Alexi Illya Zawadzki sold 353,914 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president owned 40,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $379,247.40. This trade represents a 89.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 364,860 shares of company stock worth $3,404,362 in the last 90 days. 1.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Lithium Americas by 8.7% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 95,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 7,658 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Lithium Americas during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC increased its position in shares of Lithium Americas by 67.1% during the first quarter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC now owns 311,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $843,000 after purchasing an additional 124,970 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Lithium Americas in the first quarter worth $504,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in Lithium Americas during the first quarter worth $277,000.

Lithium Americas Company Profile

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.