We recently compiled a list of the 12 Best NYSE Penny Stocks to Buy According to Analysts.In this article, we are going to take a look at where Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC) stands against the other NYSE penny stocks.
President Trump’s tariffs on Canada and Mexico went live on March 4, 2025, after a one-month moratorium, prompting retaliatory tariffs from both countries and China. This "game of tariffs" is expected to impact the US economy significantly. Immediately after Trump’s announcement, the S&P 500 fell to a new low (5,732.59) since November last year. Although the index had recouped some losses slightly (to 5,778.15 at the time of writing), the message is clear: Trump has ignited a full-blown trade war, and investors aren’t willing to take any losses.
Legendary investor Warren Buffett commented on this situation, saying the American people will suffer the sharpest pain from the tariffs. “Tariffs are actually, we’ve had a lot of experience with them. They’re an act of war, to some degree. Over time, they are a tax on goods. I mean, the tooth fairy doesn’t pay ’em! And then what? You always have to ask that question in economics. You always say, ‘And then what?’” Buffet told CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell.
However, others see this policy as the Trump administration’s strategy to try to renegotiate some of the trade deals the US has with the countries in question. Spencer Ford, CEO and Wealth Advisor with Conservative Financial Solutions believes that this administration wants to win in the eyes of Americans, and if tariffs are the way, so be it. Although he doesn’t hesitate to suggest a better approach:
“The way they’re gonna do that [score better trade deals] is through a strong economy, and you don’t do that through prolonged tariffs because it just makes things more expensive. They’re [tariffs] inflationary. And as we’ve seen, it’s not really good for the investment markets. I think a lot of people are hoping maybe we’ll see what happened from Friday to today with Ukraine where, Yeah. Suddenly there’s a change of heart there.”
Will Trump change heart? Probably. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick recently announced that President Trump will likely announce a deal to cut tariffs on the neighbors. “Both the Canadians and Mexicans were on the phone with me all day today trying to show that they’ll do better on reducing the flow of the synthetic opioid fentanyl into the US,” he told Fox Business Network.
But whatever happens, the damage has already been done. Looking at the NYSE, most companies listed on the exchange have been doing great since Trump’s comeback at the White House. The NYSE Composite Index has been in the green since January 10, 2025. However, this growth was almost wiped off in a single day when the US tariffs were effected, and the target countries announced retaliations.
On the very day the tariffs were effected, the NYSE shed over 2% in value. This index includes a mix of large-cap, mid-cap, and small-cap shares, but the scales tip towards large-cap stocks. This tells you that when the index posts losses, the sell-off affects large-cap stocks more. Granted, small-caps were also affected but the largest impact went to the huge conglomerates that often operate across borders.
The latest data shows that NYSE stocks are recovering—the NYSE has so far climbed 1.33% (as of the close on March 5). A lot of this activity is investors’ optimism about a tariff reprieve across more sectors after Trump gave the big three automakers a one-month reprieve. But whether this will happen is a question no one can answer right now. That means that the possibility of the NYSE stocks taking another dip in the future is real. And the shares whose value is much more at stake are the large-caps, which makes this an opportune time to consider NYSE penny stocks.
Our Methodology
To assemble these companies, we used stock screeners to identify NYSE stocks trading under $5. We filtered the resulting companies and picked 12 stocks based on upside potential (at least 30% as of March 7). Additionally, we have included the hedge fund sentiment around each stock, as of Q4 2024.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
An aerial view of the vast Lihtium deposits in the Jujuy province of Argentina.
Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC) explores and develops lithium resources. The company undertakes projects that produce lithium primarily in Canada and the US. The Thacker Pass project in Humboldt County, Nevada, is the company’s flagship project. The project is indirectly owned by Lithium Nevada Ventures LLC, a joint venture between Lithium Americas (62% ownership) and General Motors Holdings LLC (38% ownership).
On January 7, 2025, Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC) announced a significant increase in the mineral resource and reserve estimate for Thacker Pass. The company reported Proven and Probable mineral reserves of 14.3 million tons of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) at an average grade of 2,540 parts per million lithium, a 286% increase since November 2022. The Measured and Indicated mineral resource estimate increased by 177% to 44.5 million tons of LCE at an average grade of 2,230 ppm lithium.
The company plans to develop Thacker Pass in phases, targeting a total production capacity of 160,000 tons per year of battery-quality lithium carbonate across four phases of 40,000 tons per year each. There will also be a fifth phase for a sulfuric acid plant. Project economics for the 85-year life of the mine shows an after-tax net present value of $8.7 billion at an 8% discount rate and a 20.0% after-tax internal rate of return based on a lithium carbonate price assumption of $24,000 per ton.
Most recently, on March 5, 2025, Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC) announced a $250 million investment from Orion Resource Partners LP. The investment should achieve fully funded status at both the project and corporate level for the development and construction of Phase 1 of Thacker Pass. The initial $220 million investment is expected to satisfy all remaining equity capital fundraising requirements under the previously announced $2.26 billion loan from the US Department of Energy. The company expects to make a final investment decision for Phase 1 of Thacker Pass concurrently with the closing of the initial investment, which is targeted for the week of March 10, 2025. Phase 1 is expected to create nearly 2,000 jobs during construction and approximately 350 full-time jobs during operations, with completion targeted for late 2027. This explains analysts’ projection of the stock’s upside potential of 65.57% from its current price.
Overall LAC ranks 11th on our list of the best NYSE penny stocks to buy according to analysts. While we acknowledge the potential of LAC as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than LAC but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
