Junior Gold/Silver Miners Surge (XRA, TGD, AXU, THM, GSS, ASM, FSM, AUMN, KGN, AEM, GG, IAG, GOLD, RGLD, GLD, GDX, GDXJ)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 18:13:41 +0000

Of the top 25 price gainers today, 15 are gold or silver miners, most are the juniors, and all are up about 9%-12%. Recent weak US employment news and a pricey dollar-euro exchange is sending investors back into gold, and there’s no cheaper play than the small mining companies. Most still rely on a combination of borrowing and venture funding with occasional production revenue.

The leading gainer is Exeter Resource Corp. (AMEX: XRA) which is up 12.6% at $2.05 in a 52-week range of $1.69-$5.79. The exploration stage company looks for gold and copper and owns a 100% interest in a project in Chile. The Canadian-based company reported no revenue in 2010.

Timmins Gold Corp. (AMEX: TGD) is up 12.6% at $1.89 in a 52-week range of $1.45-$3.44. Another Canadian-based development stage company with properties in Mexico, Timmins posted about $91 million in revenues in 2011.

Alexco Resource Corp. (AMEX: AXU) is up 11.3% at $5.12 in a 52-week range of $4.23-$9.32. Another Canadian firm with operations in Canada, the company reported revenue of about $42 million in 2011.

International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. (AMEX: THM) is up 11.6% at $3.62 in a 52-week range of $2.40-$8.58. The Canadian-based company owns a 100% interest in an Alaskan gold project and reported no revenue in 2011.

Golden Star Resources Ltd. (AMEX: GSS) is up 10.4% at $1.17 in a 52-week range of $0.90-$3.12. Based in Colorado, the companies holds interest in African and South American mines and reported revenue of $471 million in 2011.

Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. (AMEX: ASM) is up 10.5% at $1.36 in a 52-week range of $1.12-$3.36. The Canadian firm has interests in Canada and Mexico and reported no revenue in 2011.

Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. (NYSE: FSM) is up 10.6% at $4.29 in a 52-week range of $3.10-$7.67. The Peruvian-based firm owns gold and silver properties in Mexico and Peru. The company reported revenue of $110 million in 2011.

Golden Minerals Co. (AMEX: AUMN) is up 9.8% at $3.82 in a 52-week range of $3.24-$20.99. The Colorado-based company holds properties in Mexico and South America and reported revenue of about $1.8 million in 2011.

Keegan Resources Inc. (AMEX: KGN) is up 9.3% at $3.59 in a 52-week range of $2.35-$9.63. The Canadian firm explores for gold in West Africa and reported no revenue in 2011.

Some larger gold miners getting a good boost today are Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. (NYSE: AEM) up 8.9%, Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG) up 9.6%, Iamgold Corp. (NYSE: IAG) up 9.2%, Randgold Resources Ltd. (NASDAQ: GOLD) up 9.3%, and Royal Gold Inc. (NASDAQ: RGLD) up 10.8%.

Virtually all the junior miners’ stocks are trading nearer to their 52-week lows than to the highs, emphasizing the speculative nature of these investments. That’s true of some of the larger miners as well. Only Royal Gold, which does no mining but instead takes shares of production in mines operated by many miners, is trading closer to its high than to its low. In that respect, it is more of a pure play on gold than on mining companies.

Speaking of gold plays, the SPDR Gold Shares ETF (AMEX: GLD) is up more than 4% at $157.81 in a 52-week range of $143.97-$185.85. The two mining company ETFs, Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (AMEX: GDX) and Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (AMEX: GDXJ) are up 6.6% and 6.9%, respectively today.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Active Trader, Commodities, Commodities & Metals, HI/LOW, Metals Tagged: AEM, ASM, AUMN, AXU, FSM, GDX, GDXJ, GG, GLD, gold, GSS, IAG, KGN, RGLD, TGD, THM, XRA

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (AAPL, GGP, UA, PLD, AKAM, WSM, PRGS, OSH, AVEO, KIOR, ASM, AONE, ARL)

Paul Ausick — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 21:09:36 +0000

US stock markets rallied on the first morning of trading in the new year. Index futures were up sharply and trading zoomed past the mark to rise more than 2%. Strong manufacturing data from Asia gave US markets a nice boost, as did a better-than-expected report on the ISM index and a rise in US construction spending. The S&P 500 could not overcome a technical barrier, causing the market to move mostly sideways in the afternoon. Crude oil rose steeply on a weaker dollar and on the better economic news. WTI crude is up more than 4% at $103.00/barrel and Brent crude is up 4.76% at $112.14. Gold is also stronger today, up about 2.5%, at $1,605.80.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly 180 points to 12.397.46 (1.47%), the NASDAQ rose more than 43 points (1.67%) to 2,648.72, and the S&P 500 rose 1.55% or more than 19 points to 1,277.05.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) had its target price lowered to $513 at Morgan Keegan; General Growth Properties Inc. (NYSE: GGP) cut from ‘outperform’ to ‘neutral’ at Credit Suisse; Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UA) raised to ‘outperform’ with a target price of $90 at Baird; Prologis Inc. (NYSE: PLD) started as ‘outperform’ at Wells Fargo; Akamai Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) cut from ‘buy’ to ‘neutral’ at Janney Capital Markets; and Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM) cut to ‘sell’ at Janney.

There were no earnings reports of note scheduled today. Progress Software Corp. (NASDAQ: PRGS) is scheduled to report earnings at 4:30 p.m. today.

Orchard Supply Hardware Stores Corp. (NASDAQ: OSH) completed an IPO today. Shares were initially priced at $25 and rose as high as $60 during the day before settling to $27.05, up more than 8% with less than half an hour of trading time left.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Aveo Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AVEO) is down more than -19% at $13.90. The pharmaceutical maker reported that its liver cancer drug performed better than a competitor in late-stage trials, but investors were expecting a larger improvement.

Kior Corp. (NASDAQ: KIOR) is down more than -10% at $9.12. The alternative fuel maker had no news, but is likely getting bashed on the expiration of US ethanol subsidies.

Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. (AMEX: ASM) is up nearly 17% at $1.66. The junior miner is riding the coattails of an overall upsurge in materials stocks today, which have been leading the markets higher all day.

A123 Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE) is up more than 24% at $2.00. The battery maker is a partner with Satcon Technology Corp. (NASDAQ: SATC) in a demonstration project on micro-grid energy storage for the US Department of Defense.

American Realty Investors Inc. (NYSE: ARL) is up more than 12% at $2.10. The real estate investment company has no news, but continues to rise on upbeat news about the housing market.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. Automakers are scheduled to release sales data throughout the day. US seasonally adjusted annual sales are expected to remain at 13.6 million cars and light trucks. Here are the noteworthy events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
10:00 a.m. – Factory orders report for November (consensus estimate for gain of 2%)
11:30 a.m. – 4-week Treasury bill auction

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Active Trader, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AAPL, AKAM, AONE, ARL, ASM, AVEO, GGP, KIOR, OSH, PLD, PRGS, UA, WSM

24/7 Wall St. » ASM

Junior Gold/Silver Miners Surge (XRA, TGD, AXU, THM, GSS, ASM, FSM, AUMN, KGN, AEM, GG, IAG, GOLD, RGLD, GLD, GDX, GDXJ)

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (AAPL, GGP, UA, PLD, AKAM, WSM, PRGS, OSH, AVEO, KIOR, ASM, AONE, ARL)