Iamgold (NYSE:IAG) Trading Up 12.4% After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Iamgold shares surged 12.4% after Royal Bank of Canada upgraded the stock from a sector perform to an outperform rating, raising its price target from $9.00 to $14.00.
• The company's quarterly earnings fell short of expectations, reporting $0.13 earnings per share against a consensus estimate of $0.14, indicating ongoing challenges despite positive analyst sentiment.
• Currently, 47.08% of Iamgold's stock is owned by institutional investors, highlighting strong interest among larger financial entities amidst recent trading activity.

Shares of Iamgold Corporation (NYSE:IAG - Get Free Report) TSE: IMG shot up 12.4% during trading on Wednesday after Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded the stock from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating. Royal Bank Of Canada now has a $14.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $9.00. Iamgold traded as high as $11.24 and last traded at $11.27. 6,018,747 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 56% from the average session volume of 13,835,195 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.02.

IAG has been the subject of a number of other reports. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Iamgold to a "hold" rating and set a $8.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Zacks Research lowered Iamgold from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. CIBC reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Iamgold in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, National Bankshares reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Iamgold in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $10.13.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Iamgold

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of IAG. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Iamgold during the first quarter worth $45,911,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Iamgold by 183.5% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 7,614,294 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $56,118,000 after purchasing an additional 4,928,077 shares during the period. Bornite Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Iamgold in the second quarter valued at about $34,089,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Iamgold in the first quarter valued at about $20,620,000. Finally, Anson Funds Management LP lifted its position in Iamgold by 2,100.0% in the first quarter. Anson Funds Management LP now owns 3,300,000 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $20,598,000 after buying an additional 3,150,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.08% of the company's stock.

Iamgold Price Performance

The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $8.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market cap of $6.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.25, a PEG ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.21.

Iamgold (NYSE:IAG - Get Free Report) TSE: IMG last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The mining company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $587.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $663.21 million. Iamgold had a return on equity of 8.54% and a net margin of 40.61%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Iamgold Corporation will post 0.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Iamgold

IAMGOLD Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates as an intermediate gold producer and developer in Canada and Burkina Faso. It owns 100% interest in the Westwood project that covers an area of 1,925 hectare and located in Quebec; a 60% interest in the Côté gold project, which covers an area of 596 square kilometer located in Ontario, Canada; and a 90% interests in the Essakane project that covers an area of 274,000 square kilometer situated in Burkina Faso.