Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) Stock Jumps 8.9% Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Lithium Americas shares jumped 8.9% to $2.255 after Canaccord Genuity upgraded the stock from “hold” to “speculative buy,” with about 6 million shares traded.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: four analysts rate the stock a Buy, six Hold, and one Sell, producing a consensus “Hold” rating and a $5.25 price target.
• Several institutional investors increased their positions, while Lithium Americas reported quarterly EPS of a $0.02 loss—better than the expected $0.04 loss—and continues developing its Thacker Pass lithium project in Nevada.

Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC - Get Free Report) rose 8.9% during trading on Thursday after Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a speculative buy rating. The stock traded as high as $2.20 and last traded at $2.2550. 6,031,929 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 10,897,047 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.07.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Lithium Americas in a research report on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Lithium Americas in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $4.50 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lithium Americas from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets set a $3.50 price objective on Lithium Americas in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, 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 for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Lithium Americas currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $5.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithium Americas by 3.9% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings 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 worth $2,231,000 after acquiring an additional 393,842 shares during the last quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lithium Americas by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC now owns 393,552 shares of the company's stock worth $1,555,000 after acquiring an additional 27,134 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Lithium Americas by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 343,290 shares of the company's stock worth $1,363,000 after acquiring an additional 35,131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Credit Industriel ET Commercial purchased a new stake in shares of Lithium Americas in the 1st quarter valued at $908,000.

Lithium Americas Stock Up 9.3%

The company has a market cap of $821.20 million, a PE ratio of -6.09 and a beta of 2.64. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $2.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 5.47 and a current ratio of 5.47.

Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC - Get Free Report) last issued 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. On average, analysts predict that Lithium Americas Corp. will post -0.07 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.