Van ECK Associates Corp Decreases Stock Position in Lithium Americas (Argentina) Corp. (NYSE:LAAC)

Van ECK Associates Corp lessened its position in Lithium Americas (Argentina) Corp. (NYSE:LAAC) by 7.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,310,356 shares of the company’s stock after selling 183,930 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Lithium Americas (Argentina) were worth $12,452,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FIFTHDELTA Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,598,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $15,303,000. CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,877,000. RWC Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,741,000. Finally, Panview Asian Equity Master Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Lithium Americas (Argentina) in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,584,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.17% of the company’s stock.

Lithium Americas (Argentina) Trading Down 3.1 %

LAAC stock traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $3.13. 613,554 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,499,960. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $504.60 million, a PE ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.35. Lithium Americas has a 1-year low of $3.01 and a 1-year high of $8.79.

Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAAC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.04 by ($0.10). During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.04) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Lithium Americas will post 0.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LAAC shares. National Bankshares set a $6.00 price target on Lithium Americas (Argentina) and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. National Bank Financial raised Lithium Americas (Argentina) to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Scotiabank raised Lithium Americas (Argentina) from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $8.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Lithium Americas (Argentina) from $18.50 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Lithium Americas (Argentina) from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lithium Americas (Argentina) presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.83.

Lithium Americas (Argentina) 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.