Iamgold (NYSE:IAG) Shares Up 12.4% on 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.

Iamgold Corporation (NYSE:IAG - Get Free Report) TSE: IMG shares 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 traded hands during trading, a decline of 56% from the average session volume of 13,835,195 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.02.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. CIBC reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Iamgold in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Iamgold to a "hold" rating and set a $8.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, June 30th. National Bankshares reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Iamgold in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Iamgold from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Iamgold currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $10.13.

Institutional Trading of Iamgold

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IAG. Marex Group plc acquired a new position in Iamgold during the second quarter worth $677,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Iamgold in the second quarter valued at about $201,000. L1 Capital Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Iamgold in the second quarter valued at about $693,000. Hollencrest Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Iamgold in the second quarter valued at about $377,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Iamgold in the second quarter valued at about $738,000. 47.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Iamgold Price Performance

The company's 50-day moving average is $7.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $6.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.95, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.21.

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

Iamgold Company Profile

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.

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