Up one day and down the next, SSR Mining (SSRM 4.28%) stock may be frustrating investors -- but its gyrations are easy to explain.
SSR Mining mines gold (and also copper, silver, lead, and zinc). When the price of gold rises, SSR stock tends to rise; when the price of gold falls, SSR stock tends to fall. Today, gold prices are falling, and SSR stock is following them down: 8.5% as of 10:45 a.m. ET Tuesday.
Image source: Getty Images.
Gold and silver prices decline
After hitting an all-time high of $5,419.80 per ounce on Jan. 28, gold prices tumbled toward $4,500 in early February, according to data from TradingEconomics.com. Gold moved back above $5,000 on Feb. 8, slipped below it Feb. 12, then up again, then down again. Today, gold sits at $4,871.
SSR's silver holdings aren't helping. Like gold, silver prices peaked on Jan. 28 at $116.58 per ounce. Silver prices fell to $66, then bounced back above $80 -- which appears to be a magic number for the metal. Again, prices passed above $80 Feb. 8 and below $80 Feb. 12. Unlike with gold, silver prices haven't recovered since, remaining well below $80.
Today, silver costs $72.95.
NASDAQ: SSRM
Key Data Points
Is SSR Mining stock a buy?
Can SSR Mining stock bounce back? We'll get that answer in just a few hours -- because SSR is due to report Q4 earnings after close of trading this afternoon.
Analysts predict SSR will earn $0.57 per share, with full-year earnings of $1.72. SSR Mining stock has already sunk below $26, though, so if it hits those numbers, the stock would cost only 15 times earnings -- not bad for a stock that analysts predict will double its profits every year for the next five years.
