Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Lithium Americas an average “Hold” rating: Of 12 covering firms, eight rate the stock a hold, three recommend buying, and one recommends selling. The average 12-month price target is $5.44.
• Institutional ownership increased significantly: Several major investors expanded their positions, including Legal & General, BNP Paribas Financial Markets, Reaves W. H. & Co., and Dimensional Fund Advisors.
• The stock remains under pressure: Lithium Americas opened at $2.85, near its 52-week low of $2.67, while its 50-day and 200-day moving averages stood at $3.03 and $4.01, respectively. The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.02 per share but beat analyst expectations.

Shares of Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $5.4444.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LAC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Lithium Americas in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $4.50 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Lithium Americas in a report on Friday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Lithium Americas from $4.50 to $4.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lithium Americas from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Scotia decreased their target price on shares of Lithium Americas from $5.00 to $4.50 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 25th.

Institutional Trading of Lithium Americas

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Lithium Americas by 212.7% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,062,306 shares of the company's stock worth $13,349,000 after acquiring an additional 2,082,891 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Lithium Americas by 320.7% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,479,668 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,451,000 after acquiring an additional 1,127,964 shares during the last quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Lithium Americas by 420.0% during the fourth quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 1,040,000 shares of the company's stock worth $4,534,000 after buying an additional 840,000 shares in the last quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lithium Americas by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC now owns 893,395 shares of the company's stock worth $3,440,000 after acquiring an additional 33,475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Lithium Americas by 229.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 565,135 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,231,000 after buying an additional 393,842 shares in the last quarter.

Lithium Americas Price Performance

Lithium Americas stock opened at $2.85 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $3.03 and a 200-day moving average of $4.01. Lithium Americas has a 52-week low of $2.67 and a 52-week high of $10.52. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.72 and a beta of 2.59.

Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.02. As a group, analysts predict that Lithium Americas will post -0.07 EPS for the current year.

About Lithium Americas

Lithium Americas Corp. NYSE: LAC is a North American lithium development company focused on advancing domestic sources of battery-grade lithium. Its principal asset is the Thacker Pass lithium project in Humboldt County, Nevada, which is designed to produce lithium carbonate for use in electric vehicle batteries and other energy-storage applications.

Thacker Pass is being developed in phases and is intended to support the North American battery supply chain. The project uses claystone-based resources and includes plans for mining, processing and production of lithium carbonate at an integrated site.

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