Empyrean Capital Partners LP Purchases 1,363,066 Shares of Novagold Resources Inc. $NG

Key Points

• Empyrean Capital Partners LP increased its stake in Novagold Resources Inc. by 239.1% during the first quarter, owning approximately 0.58% of the company valued at $5.6 million after purchasing additional shares.
• Several institutional investors, including Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC and Vident Advisory LLC, also increased their holdings in Novagold Resources, leading to institutional ownership of 57.56% of the company.
• Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Novagold's rating from "sector perform" to "outperform" with a target price increase from $5.00 to $7.00.

Empyrean Capital Partners LP boosted its holdings in Novagold Resources Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN:NG - Free Report) TSE: NG by 239.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,933,066 shares of the mining company's stock after buying an additional 1,363,066 shares during the quarter. Empyrean Capital Partners LP owned 0.58% of Novagold Resources worth $5,645,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Novagold Resources in the 1st quarter worth about $56,000. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Novagold Resources in the 1st quarter worth about $146,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Novagold Resources by 21.0% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 16,415 shares of the mining company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 2,848 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Novagold Resources by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 389,429 shares of the mining company's stock worth $1,137,000 after buying an additional 9,797 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in Novagold Resources by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 700,313 shares of the mining company's stock worth $2,044,000 after buying an additional 19,017 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Novagold Resources

In other Novagold Resources news, Director Hume D. Kyle bought 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $4.10 per share, for a total transaction of $41,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 22,348 shares in the company, valued at $91,626.80. This trade represents a 80.98% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.39% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on Novagold Resources in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $7.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Novagold Resources from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $5.00 to $7.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novagold Resources currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $7.00.

Novagold Resources Trading Up 0.1%

NG traded up $0.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $6.76. The company had a trading volume of 4,043,816 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,001,048. The stock has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.17 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.22. Novagold Resources Inc. has a 52 week low of $2.26 and a 52 week high of $6.95. The company has a quick ratio of 76.72, a current ratio of 76.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Novagold Resources Profile

NovaGold Resources Inc explores for and develops gold mineral properties in the United States. Its principal asset is the Donlin Gold project consisting of 493 mining claims covering an area of approximately 29,008 hectares located in the Kuskokwim region of southwestern Alaska. The company was formerly known as NovaCan Mining Resources (1985) Limited and changed its name to NovaGold Resources Inc in March 1987.