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

Lithium Americas (Argentina) Corp. (NYSE:LAR)’s stock price shot up 8% on Friday . The company traded as high as $9.77 and last traded at $9.7210. 674,951 shares changed 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LAR. TD Securities lifted 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 report on Tuesday, March 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Zacks Research downgraded Lithium Americas (Argentina) from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Scotiabank raised their target price on Lithium Americas (Argentina) from $8.50 to $11.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) in a report on Monday, March 23rd. One investment 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $8.13.

Lithium Americas (Argentina) Trading Up 7.9%

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $9.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $7.55. The firm has a market cap of $1.58 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.57.

Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAR) last issued 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). As a group, equities analysts expect that Lithium Americas will post 0.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in Lithium Americas (Argentina) by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 17,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 1,162 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its stake in Lithium Americas (Argentina) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 128,053 shares of the company’s stock valued at $428,000 after purchasing an additional 2,940 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its stake in Lithium Americas (Argentina) by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 103,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in Lithium Americas (Argentina) by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 26,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 3,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Lithium Americas (Argentina) by 45.3% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 3,552 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.