Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Barrick Gold (TSE:ABX) Stock Price

Key Points

• Barclays cut its price target on Barrick Gold from C$56.00 to C$55.00, though that still implies about 12.45% upside from the current share price.
• Despite the downgrade, analyst sentiment remains generally positive: Barrick Gold has a consensus Buy rating and an average target price of C$73.15.
• Barrick Gold shares were down 3.0% to C$48.91 on Thursday, while recent insider activity showed both buying and selling, including a director purchase and another director sale.

Barrick Gold (TSE:ABX - Get Free Report) NYSE: ABX had its price objective lowered by investment analysts at Barclays from C$56.00 to C$55.00 in a report issued on Thursday,BayStreet.CA reports. Barclays's price target suggests a potential upside of 12.45% from the stock's current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from C$55.00 to C$65.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Barrick Gold from C$91.00 to C$79.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. ATB Cormark Capital Markets downgraded shares of Barrick Gold from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price objective for the company from C$70.00 to C$75.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Barrick Gold from C$86.00 to C$91.00 in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Barrick Gold from C$51.00 to C$49.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of C$73.15.

Barrick Gold Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of ABX traded down C$1.53 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting C$48.91. The stock had a trading volume of 1,569,705 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,736,055. The firm has a market capitalization of C$81.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.60. Barrick Gold has a 1-year low of C$28.22 and a 1-year high of C$74.00. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of C$55.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$59.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.29, a current ratio of 3.06 and a quick ratio of 2.62.

Barrick Gold (TSE:ABX - Get Free Report) NYSE: ABX last released its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The basic materials company reported C$1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$5.81 billion during the quarter. Barrick Gold had a return on equity of 23.48% and a net margin of 32.04%. Sell-side analysts predict that Barrick Gold will post 2.2422764 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Barrick Gold news, Director Robert Ananda Paul Samek purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of C$55.06 per share, for a total transaction of C$550,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at C$1,040,634. The trade was a 112.36% increase in their position. Also, Director Mark Francis Hill sold 9,453 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$56.85, for a total value of C$537,403.05. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 334,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately C$18,997,905.60. The trade was a 2.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders sold 134,422 shares of company stock worth $7,695,879 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

About Barrick Gold

Barrick is a leading global mining, exploration and development company. With one of the largest portfolios of world-class and long-life gold and copper assets in the industry - including six of the world's Tier One gold mines -Barrick's operations and projects span 18 countries and five continents. Barrick is also the largest gold producer in the United States. We create real, long-term value for all stakeholders through responsible mining, strong partnerships and a disciplined approach to growth.

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