Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) Shares Down 2.7% – Time to Sell?

Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC) shares fell 2.7% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $5.12 and last traded at $5.2550. 9,769,466 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 40% from the average session volume of 16,220,648 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.40.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on LAC. 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. Wedbush raised their price objective on Lithium Americas from $5.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. 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 report on Wednesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Lithium Americas from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $5.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $5.00 price target on shares of Lithium Americas in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lithium Americas currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $5.33.

Lithium Americas Trading Down 2.0%

The company has a quick ratio of 3.77, a current ratio of 3.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $6.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a PE ratio of -5.08 and a beta of 1.40.

Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.03. Equities analysts expect that Lithium Americas Corp. will post -0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Lithium Americas news, SVP Edward Grandy sold 6,183 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $609,597. This trade represents a 4.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Alexi Illya Zawadzki sold 353,914 shares of Lithium Americas stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.48, for a total transaction of $3,355,104.72. Following the transaction, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 364,874 shares of company stock valued at $3,404,477. 1.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lithium Americas

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LAC. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Lithium Americas by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 95,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 7,658 shares during the last quarter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC increased its stake in shares of Lithium Americas by 67.1% during the 1st quarter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC now owns 311,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $843,000 after purchasing an additional 124,970 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lithium Americas in the 1st quarter worth approximately $504,000. American Century Companies Inc. purchased a new position in Lithium Americas in the first quarter valued at approximately $277,000. Finally, HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Lithium Americas by 0.6% during the first quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 735,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,994,000 after purchasing an additional 4,445 shares during the period.

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.