As of February 7, 2025, the price of gold is roughly $2,889, just a couple of dollars below all-time highs reached earlier in the month. The massive rally—gold is up more than 40% in the year leading to that date—has been fueled by a diverse range of factors, including lingering inflation, global geopolitical turmoil, and, most recently in the United States, uncertainty about the Trump administration's planned tariffs on Mexico and Canada, among other things.
The precious metals rally is both massive and apparently continuing. UBS analysts raised their forecast for the price of gold in the coming year to $3,000 an ounce, signaling faith in the precious metal's continued appeal as a store of value during times of market uncertainty.
For investors, this presents multiple opportunities. On the one hand, direct investment in physical gold or indirect exposure to the metal via ETFs or other sources may be appealing. On the other, those looking for securities likely to benefit from the precious metals run may be most likely to turn to mining company stocks, given that the share prices of these firms are often closely tied to the price of the metals they produce. Two such stocks likely to benefit from a continued gold and other metals rally include Coeur Mining Inc. (NYSE: CDE), Seabridge Gold Inc. (NYSE: SA), and Alamos Gold Inc. (NYSE: AGI).
Coeur Mining: Strong Performance Enhanced by SilverCrest Acquisition
In its report for the third quarter of 2024, North American mining outfit Coeur Mining said its operating and free cash flow—$111 million and $69 million, respectively—reached their highest levels in more than a decade. This strong cash flow performance was supported by exceptional production, including 21% and 15% year-over-year increases in production for gold and silver, respectively.
Coeur appears to only be adding momentum heading into 2025. The company's planned acquisition of SilverCrest Metals Inc. (NYSEMKT: SILV) is on track to close early in the year after the target company's shareholders voted to approve the deal on February 6. The all-stock deal is valued at roughly $1.7 billion and, when complete, will make Coeur one of the biggest silver mining companies in the world. The deal should have an immediate impact on Coeur's cost and cash flow profile and will likely also help its efforts to de-leverage.
With this in mind, analysts are strongly optimistic about Coeur going forward. Five out of six analysts have rated it a Buy, expecting 10.8% upside potential based on a consensus price target of $7.81.
Seabridge Gold: Progress on Major Project
Seabridge Gold is a Canadian mining firm that has experienced share price growth of over 26% in the year leading to February 7, 2025. However, this performance also includes a significant dip of 14.2% in the most recent six months amid controversies over its Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell project, a planned Canadian gold and copper mine near southeast Alaska. The KSM project has been referred to as the "world's largest undeveloped gold mine," but it faces pushback from local indigenous groups.
In 2024, Seabridge achieved a significant milestone in this major project—the Canadian government officially designated the project "substantially started," an official designation that ensures the company's previously approved environmental assessment certificate for the project remains in effect.
To be sure, Seabridge still has significant work to bring the mine, which has an estimated lifespan of about 60 years, to fully operational status. In late January, it announced an at-the-market offering of up to $100 million to raise capital, and it continues to search for suitable project partners. But for investors optimistic about the prospects of this major mining site, now may be a good time to buy the (relative) dip on Seabridge.
Alamos Gold: Excellent Performance, New Mine Project Approval
Canadian gold mining operation Alamos Gold offers a strong all-around mining investment proposition. The company's recent financials are stellar—it doubled EPS and improved revenue by 41% year-over-year in the most recent quarter. It operates high-quality, long-life mines in areas expected to remain stable from a regulatory standpoint. In late January, the company also announced an important approval from the Mexican government, which allowed it to begin construction on its highly anticipated Puerto Del Aire project.
All five analysts that have rated Alamos have assigned a Buy rating, and the company's consensus price target is $25.06, about 12.7% above current price levels as of February 7.
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The article "3 Mining Stocks Poised to Ride the Precious Metals Boom" first appeared on MarketBeat.
