Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) Lowered to "Hold" Rating by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Wheaton Precious Metals (WPM) from a "strong‑buy" to a "hold" in a report released Thursday.
• Analyst sentiment remains largely positive — 10 analysts rate WPM a Buy and 2 a Hold, producing a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $140.44.
• Shares opened at $147.06 (1‑year range $68.03–$165.76) with a market cap of $66.77 billion and roughly 70.34% of the stock owned by institutional investors, several of which recently added or increased positions.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a report on Monday, January 26th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Wheaton Precious Metals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, January 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Wheaton Precious Metals from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $115.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a report on Monday, December 29th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $140.44.

Wheaton Precious Metals Price Performance

Shares of WPM stock opened at $147.06 on Thursday. Wheaton Precious Metals has a 1-year low of $68.03 and a 1-year high of $165.76. The company has a market cap of $66.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.50. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $140.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $117.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Wheaton Precious Metals during the 1st quarter worth $331,000. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 11,223 shares of the company's stock worth $871,000 after purchasing an additional 1,081 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in the 1st quarter valued at about $209,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in the second quarter valued at about $239,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 71,999 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,466,000 after acquiring an additional 5,212 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.34% of the company's stock.

Wheaton Precious Metals Company Profile

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. is a Canada-based precious metals streaming company that acquires and manages long-term purchase agreements for metals produced by mining companies. Rather than operating mines, Wheaton provides upfront and ongoing financing to miners in exchange for the right to purchase a portion of the metals produced — typically silver and gold, and occasionally other precious metals — at predetermined prices. This streaming business model offers investors exposure to metal production with reduced operating and capital-cost risk compared with traditional mining companies.

The company's activities center on structuring and maintaining a diversified portfolio of streaming agreements across multiple jurisdictions.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.