Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) Stock Sees Heavy Call Option Buying

Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 14,910 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 80% compared to the typical daily volume of 8,302 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on LAC. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Lithium Americas from a “hold” rating to a “speculative buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lithium Americas in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Lithium Americas in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $6.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Lithium Americas from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $3.50 price target on Lithium Americas in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lithium Americas has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithium Americas

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its position in Lithium Americas by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 1,328,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,494,000 after buying an additional 190,815 shares during the last quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithium Americas by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC now owns 893,395 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,440,000 after buying an additional 33,475 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Lithium Americas by 229.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 565,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,231,000 after purchasing an additional 393,842 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Lithium Americas by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 343,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,363,000 after buying an additional 35,131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new stake in shares of Lithium Americas in the second quarter valued at $838,000.

Lithium Americas Stock Down 11.9%

Lithium Americas stock traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $1.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 16,290,792 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,691,148. The company has a market cap of $604.46 million, a P/E ratio of -4.50 and a beta of 2.74. The company has a quick ratio of 5.47, a current ratio of 5.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $2.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.82. Lithium Americas has a fifty-two week low of $1.68 and a fifty-two week high of $6.96.

Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.02. On average, research analysts expect that Lithium Americas will post -0.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithium Americas Company Profile

Lithium Americas Corp. is a Canadian company focused on developing lithium resources in North America. Its principal project is Thacker Pass, a lithium deposit in Humboldt County, Nevada, where the company plans to mine and process lithium-bearing claystone. The planned operation is designed to produce lithium carbonate for use in electric-vehicle batteries and energy storage systems. The project is intended to serve the North American battery supply chain; Lithium Americas is developing the resource rather than operating it as a producing mine.