Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) Reaches New 12-Month Low - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Lithium Americas shares fell to a new 52-week low of $2.32, well below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages of $2.94 and $3.81, respectively.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans cautious: the stock has a consensus “Hold” rating and a $5.25 price target, with ratings ranging from JPMorgan’s “overweight” to several sell-oriented assessments.
• The company’s Thacker Pass project in Nevada remains its key growth asset, while Lithium Americas reported a quarterly loss of $0.02 per share—better than the expected $0.04 loss—and analysts project a $0.07 loss for the full year.

Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday. The company traded as low as $2.32 and last traded at $2.3150, with a volume of 287,207 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.35.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on LAC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Lithium Americas in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $4.50 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lithium Americas from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Lithium Americas in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $6.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets set a $3.50 price target on Lithium Americas in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Lithium Americas in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $5.25.

Lithium Americas Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $825.92 million, a PE ratio of -6.18 and a beta of 2.64. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $2.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $3.81. The company has a current ratio of 5.47, a quick ratio of 5.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithium Americas

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Lithium Americas by 229.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 565,135 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,231,000 after purchasing an additional 393,842 shares during the period. Credit Industriel ET Commercial purchased a new stake in shares of Lithium Americas in the first quarter valued at about $908,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new stake in shares of Lithium Americas during the second quarter worth about $838,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Lithium Americas by 112.2% during the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 35,182 shares of the company's stock valued at $139,000 after acquiring an additional 18,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFG Investments LLC lifted its position in Lithium Americas by 77.8% during the 1st quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 36,547 shares of the company's stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 15,988 shares during the period.

About Lithium Americas

Lithium Americas Corp. is a lithium development company focused on advancing domestic battery-materials production in North America. Its principal asset is the Thacker Pass lithium project in Humboldt County, Nevada, one of the largest known lithium deposits in the United States. The project is designed to produce battery-grade lithium carbonate for use in electric vehicle batteries and other energy-storage applications.

Thacker Pass is being developed in phases and is expected to use a processing method intended to recover lithium from sedimentary claystone.

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