Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAR) Shares Up 8% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) Corp. (NYSE:LAR) traded up 8% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $9.77 and last traded at $9.7210. 674,951 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 3,221,365 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) from $8.50 to $11.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, TD Securities upped their price objective on shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lithium Americas (Argentina) has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $8.13.

Lithium Americas (Argentina) Trading Up 7.9%

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $9.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.55. The company has a market cap of $1.58 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.57.

Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.07). On average, equities analysts expect that Lithium Americas will post 0.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithium Americas (Argentina)

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LAR. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Lithium Americas (Argentina) by 119.3% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,594,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,045,000 after acquiring an additional 5,219,416 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP raised its position in shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) by 102.1% in the 3rd quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 4,200,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,029,000 after purchasing an additional 2,122,035 shares in the last quarter. Seldon Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $6,076,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) by 441.1% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,200,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,281,000 after purchasing an additional 1,793,994 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,456,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.17% of the company’s stock.

Lithium Americas (Argentina) Company Profile

Lithium Americas (Argentina) is a subsidiary of Lithium Americas Corp. focused on the exploration, development and production of lithium brine resources in the Jujuy province of northwest Argentina. The company’s principal asset is the Cauchari-Olaroz project, situated within the Lithium Triangle, one of the world’s richest regions for lithium-bearing brines. Through its Argentine operations, Lithium Americas aims to supply battery-grade lithium carbonate critical to electric vehicle and energy-storage markets.

The Cauchari-Olaroz project encompasses concessions on the Salar de Cauchari and Salar de Olaroz salt flats, where detailed drilling programs and pilot?scale evaporation ponds have demonstrated favorable lithium concentrations.