Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC)

Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors acquired 8,130 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 237% compared to the average volume of 2,413 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithium Americas

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LAC. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Lithium Americas by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 87,701 shares of the company's stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 3,310 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Lithium Americas by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 104,207 shares of the company's stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 4,379 shares in the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC grew its position in Lithium Americas by 0.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners grew its position in Lithium Americas by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 51,118 shares of the company's stock valued at $152,000 after purchasing an additional 7,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in Lithium Americas by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 27,679 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 8,466 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Lithium Americas from $3.00 to $2.75 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $5.00 target price on shares of Lithium Americas in a report on Friday, May 16th. National Bank Financial lowered shares of Lithium Americas from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Lithium Americas in a report on Thursday, April 17th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $4.50 target price on the stock. Finally, National Bankshares lowered shares of Lithium Americas from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $3.88.

Lithium Americas Stock Up 7.2%

Shares of LAC stock traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $2.84. 15,052,739 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,529,043. The business has a 50 day moving average of $2.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2.89. The company has a current ratio of 10.35, a quick ratio of 10.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Lithium Americas has a 52 week low of $2.02 and a 52 week high of $5.20. The company has a market capitalization of $621.68 million, a PE ratio of -17.75 and a beta of 0.69.

Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.01). Analysts anticipate that Lithium Americas will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.