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

Key Points

• Investors bought an unusually large volume of call options—32,234 calls, a 61% increase versus typical volume—signaling heightened bullish derivatives interest in Lithium Americas.
• Shares jumped about 8.9% to $4.43 on the day, but the company recently missed earnings (-$0.37 EPS vs. -$0.04 expected) and carries an average analyst rating of Hold with a mean target of $5.56.
• Institutional investors are adding exposure: VanEck grew its stake by 158% to 14,479,615 shares, indicating notable institutional accumulation.

Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Investors bought 32,234 call options on the company. This is an increase of 61% compared to the typical volume of 20,062 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on LAC shares. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Lithium Americas from $7.00 to $5.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. TD Securities raised Lithium Americas to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Lithium Americas in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lithium Americas from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Lithium Americas in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lithium Americas has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $5.56.

Lithium Americas Trading Up 8.9%

Shares of Lithium Americas stock traded up $0.36 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $4.43. The stock had a trading volume of 5,796,191 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,777,490. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.60 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a current ratio of 5.16, a quick ratio of 5.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Lithium Americas has a 1 year low of $2.47 and a 1 year high of $10.52.

Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The company reported ($0.37) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.33). As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Lithium Americas will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithium Americas

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Lithium Americas by 158.1% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,479,615 shares of the company's stock worth $82,679,000 after acquiring an additional 8,868,971 shares during the last quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lithium Americas by 26.6% in the 3rd quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,281,740 shares of the company's stock worth $7,319,000 after acquiring an additional 268,918 shares during the last quarter. Old West Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lithium Americas in the 3rd quarter worth $7,647,000. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lithium Americas in the 3rd quarter worth $1,142,000. Finally, Gainplan LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lithium Americas during the third quarter valued at $58,000.

Lithium Americas Company Profile

Lithium Americas Corp. is a Vancouver‐based resource company focused on the development of lithium projects to support the global transition to electric vehicles and renewable energy storage. The company specializes in advancing lithium brine and claystone assets through feasibility studies, environmental permitting and engineering design. Its technical teams work to produce high‐purity lithium chemicals, including lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, for battery manufacturers worldwide.

Lithium Americas' two flagship projects are the Cauchari‐Olaroz lithium brine operation in Jujuy Province, Argentina—developed in partnership with Ganfeng Lithium—and the Thacker Pass lithium clay deposit in northern Nevada, United States.

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