Why are some Tier 1 gold stocks relatively underperforming their global peers in the stock price tables? These and other questions may well be pondered by specialist investors in listed gold stocks as the dollar bullion gold price flirts with making fresh all-time records. What is clear is that the favoured Tier I gold counter, Newmont, continues to hold sway over the global gold subsector group. This is a position Newmont has held for much of this year. It is followed in the Tier I sector, in terms of stock price performance, by Newcrest (busy with a merger with fellow Australia-based global Tier I name Lihir), Barrick (the world's No 1 gold stock by value and production), and two South Africa based names, AngloGold Ashanti, and Gold Fields.
On the other hand global No.2 gold stock by value, Goldcorp, and former high flyer Agnico-Eagle along with Kinross, are still currently underperforming. Looking at gold and gold-related stocks, the biggest, in terms of market value, stands as US-quoted SPDR Gold Shares ETF, the world's biggest gold bullion exchange traded fund. This has a current market value of USD 52.3bn, compared to Barrick's USD 45.1bn. The ETF holds physical bullion on behalf of investors, and does not operate as a mining company, thus removing the many risks that may or may not be associated with digging the stuff out of the ground. The ETF does not accrue, or pay, any form of income, unlike a gold stock, which may pay dividends and/or interest on debt instruments.
Looking at the most in-demand Tier II stocks, Red Back makes a strong appearance, under offer as it is from Tier I gold stock Kinross, which, from a pricing viewpoint, ranks as the bottom performing in its peer group, with the exception of China's Zijin. Goldcorp this week announced a take out bid for Andean; investors may perceive, as is also the apparent case with Kinross, that the bids are overpriced. Such a notion has done but little, however, to dampen appetite for Newcrest. The three bids mentioned involve differing components of paper (fresh equity) and cash. These do not appear correlated, as such, with relative stock price performance.
The majority of Tier II gold stocks are well in demand; the only real exception is Yamana, possibly a delayed reaction to the firm's somewhat unconventional style…
