Raymond James & Associates Acquires New Stake in Piedmont Lithium Inc. (NASDAQ:PLL)

Raymond James & Associates purchased a new position in shares of Piedmont Lithium Inc. (NASDAQ:PLL) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 147,522 shares of the mineral exploration company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,472,000. Raymond James & Associates owned approximately 0.76% of Piedmont Lithium at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PLL. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Piedmont Lithium by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 361,625 shares of the mineral exploration company’s stock worth $10,209,000 after purchasing an additional 1,232 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Piedmont Lithium in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,148,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Piedmont Lithium in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $308,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Piedmont Lithium in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Piedmont Lithium during the fourth quarter worth $217,000. 52.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $9.30 price target on shares of Piedmont Lithium in a report on Monday, August 12th. B. Riley cut their price target on shares of Piedmont Lithium from $26.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Piedmont Lithium from $28.00 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price (down previously from $61.00) on shares of Piedmont Lithium in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.61.

Piedmont Lithium Stock Performance

NASDAQ PLL opened at $7.85 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $9.55 and its 200-day moving average is $11.80. Piedmont Lithium Inc. has a 12-month low of $6.93 and a 12-month high of $46.33. The company has a quick ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market cap of $152.05 million, a P/E ratio of -4.13 and a beta of 0.80.

Piedmont Lithium (NASDAQ:PLL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The mineral exploration company reported ($0.69) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by ($0.53). The company had revenue of $13.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.89 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.55) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Piedmont Lithium Inc. will post -2.26 earnings per share for the current year.

About Piedmont Lithium

Piedmont Lithium Inc, a development stage company, engages in the exploration and development of resource projects in the United States. The company primarily holds a 100% interest in the Carolina Lithium Project that include an area of approximately 3,706 acres located within the Carolina Tin-Spodumene Belt situated to the northwest of Charlotte, North Carolina in the United States.