Lithium Americas downgraded to Sell from Speculative Buy at Canaccord

Canaccord analyst Katie Lachapelle downgraded Lithium Americas (LAC) to Sell from Speculative Buy with an unchanged price target of C$6.50. The company this morning announced non-binding revised terms of its Department of Energy loan and changes to its corporate and joint venture structure, which will see the DOE receive a 5% equity stake and a 5% economic stake in the Thacker Pass venture through warrants, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says that while the U.S. government taking a greater financial interest in a domestic critical minerals project may be perceived as a positive, the recent run-up in Lithium Americas shares is overdone and does not accurately reflect the valuation implications of the revised deal with the DOE. Only minor modifications have been made to the loan, according to Canaccord.