Lithium Americas (TSE:LAC) Shares Down 21.6% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Lithium Americas shares plummeted by 21.6% during trading, dropping from a previous closing price of C$13.26 to a low of C$10.29.
• Analysts' ratings for the company have declined sharply, with Scotiabank downgrading it to a "strong sell" and new price targets set as low as C$6.25 by Canaccord Genuity Group.
• Lithium Americas has a market capitalization of C$2.57 billion but currently has no lithium production, with anticipated production timelines extending into the late 2020s.

Shares of Lithium Americas Corp. (TSE:LAC - Get Free Report) dropped 21.6% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as C$10.29 and last traded at C$10.39. Approximately 4,766,525 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 375% from the average daily volume of 1,002,767 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$13.26.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on LAC shares. Scotiabank downgraded Lithium Americas from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of Lithium Americas from a "moderate buy" rating to a "sell" rating and set a C$6.25 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. National Bankshares lifted their price objective on Lithium Americas from C$5.00 to C$10.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Cormark downgraded shares of Lithium Americas from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of Lithium Americas from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lithium Americas has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of C$8.13.

Lithium Americas Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of C$2.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.56 and a beta of 1.26. The business has a 50-day moving average price of C$6.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$4.68. The company has a quick ratio of 52.06, a current ratio of 13.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Lithium Americas Company Profile

Lithium Americas is developing three lithium production assets, two brine resources located in northwestern Argentina and a clay resource in Nevada, U.S. While the company has no current lithium production, we expect the first Argentina resource, Cauchari-Olaroz, to enter production in late 2022. We expect the Nevada project, Thacker Pass, to enter production in the middle of the 2020s and the second brine resource, Pastos Grandes, to enter production in the late-2020s.

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