Van ECK Associates Corp Makes New $15.76 Million Investment in Lithium Americas (Argentina) Corp. (NYSE:LAAC)

Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new stake in Lithium Americas (Argentina) Corp. (NYSE:LAAC) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 2,494,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,763,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LAAC. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Lithium Americas (Argentina) in the 4th quarter valued at $15,303,000. RWC Asset Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) during the fourth quarter valued at $5,741,000. Panview Asian Equity Master Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) in the 4th quarter valued at $5,584,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) in the 4th quarter worth about $1,743,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) during the 4th quarter worth about $1,181,000. 49.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank raised shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $8.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Lithium Americas (Argentina) from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Lithium Americas (Argentina) from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $9.00 to $6.50 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $10.70.

Lithium Americas (Argentina) Stock Performance

LAAC opened at $5.07 on Thursday. Lithium Americas has a 1-year low of $3.84 and a 1-year high of $8.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $816.78 million, a PE ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 9.16, a quick ratio of 9.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $5.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.33.

Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 20th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.05. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lithium Americas will post 0.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithium Americas (Argentina) Company Profile

Lithium Americas (Argentina) Corp. operates as a resource company. The company explores for lithium deposits. The company owns interests in the Cauchari-Olaroz project located in Jujuy province of Argentina. It also has a pipeline of development and exploration stage projects, including the Pastos Grandes project and the Sal de la Puna project located in Salta Province in northwestern Argentina.