BMO Capital Markets maintained its market-perform rating on the shares of Lithium Americas (LAC.TO, LAC) and its US$3.50 price target following a visit to the company's Thacker Pass lithium project.

"Incremental thoughts from the Thacker Pass sell-side site visit (we last visited in 2023). The timelines and budget seem on track, but it's early and in our view labor (~3x staff up by 2025-end, 6x staff-up by 2026-end) is a key risk for remaining on time and on budget). First DOE loan drawdown is still expected in late-Q3. No model changes and reiterate Market Perform rating, and $3.50 target price (in line with our 10% NAV), implying an above-average ~7x 2029E EV/EBITDA at -$18k/t LCE (double spot prices) and 95% utilization," analyst Joel Jackson wrote.

(MT Newswires covers equity, commodity and economic research from major banks and research firms in North America, Asia and Europe. Research providers may contact us here: https://www.mtnewswires.com/contact-us)

Price: 3.52, Change: -0.05, Percent Change: -1.40