After four straight days of gains, Newmont Corporation (NEM 1.68%) stock took a breather yesterday, falling 5% -- then perked right back up!
In morning trading, 10:15 a.m. ET Friday, shares of the gold miner (which also mines copper, silver, zinc, and lead) are up 5% -- not quite back where they were on Wednesday, but close.
Image source: Getty Images.
Gold and silver prices rise
And why? No huge mystery there -- the price of gold is rising. After hitting an all-time high of $5,419.80 per ounce on Jan. 28, gold prices tumbled to almost $4,500 in early February, according to data from TradingEconomics.com. Gold moved back above the $5,000 threshold last week, slipped below it yesterday (which is why Newmont declined), and is back above $5,000 today -- $5,001 per ounce, to be precise.
The story on silver is similar. Silver prices peaked on Jan. 28 at $116.58 per ounce. Silver prices fell to $66, then bounced back above $80, only to fall nearly 10% yesterday. At last report, silver is up about 0.5% today, and heading toward $78.
So simply put, gold and silver are up today -- and Newmont stock, which mines gold and silver, is going up with them.
NYSE: NEM
Key Data Points
Is Newmont stock a buy?
Can Newmont keep rising? That depends on how much it's been able to earn from the rising prices of gold and silver. We'll find that out Thursday, Feb. 19, when Newmont reports Q4 earnings.
Analysts predict Newmont will earn $2.02 per share for the quarter, bringing its full-year profit to $6.42. On Newmont's $124 stock price, that works out to about a 19.3 price-to-earnings ratio on a stock that -- analysts say -- will grow earnings 32% annually over the next five years.
Sounds like a buy to me.
