Freedom Broker downgraded Agnico Eagle, Barrick and Newmont to Hold on Thursday. The broker cited trimmed near-term EBITDA forecasts, operational risks and valuation limits, and all three stocks fell in morning trading.
Shares of Agnico Eagle Mines fell 5.2% on Thursday, while Barrick Mining lost 5.1% and Newmont dropped 4.1% during morning trading. Freedom Broker issued the downgrades across North America's top gold producers, citing trimmed near-term EBITDA forecasts, lingering operational risks and valuation constraints.
Agnico Eagle: valuation premium limits returns
Freedom Broker moved Agnico Eagle from Buy to Hold and cut its price target to $212.00 from $255.00. The analysts noted that the company's operational quality remains intact, but its current valuation premium limits prospective returns.
The broker also revised its 2027 EBITDA projection for Agnico down 6% to $11.0 billion, against the backdrop of pit disruptions at Canadian Malartic and execution risks at Odyssey.
Barrick and Newmont also move to Hold
Barrick's rating fell to Hold, and Freedom Broker cut its price target to $46.00 from $54.00 after reducing near-term earnings estimates. Barrick trades at a discount to its peers at roughly 10.0x 2027E earnings and has longer-term catalysts such as the Fourmile project and a proposed North American business IPO. Even so, its volatility-adjusted return profile fell short of the broker's Buy threshold.
Newmont completed the trio of downgrades with a Hold rating and a price target cut to $116.00 from $130.00. Freedom Broker said Newmont presents the least favorable balance of earnings growth and operational risk among major peers. It named cost inflation across the Australian portfolio and performance risks at the Lihir and Cadia assets as the primary headwinds to Newmont's 2027 EBITDA outlook.
Source: Investing.com
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