Novagold Resources (NYSEAMERICAN:NG) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Novagold Resources Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN:NG) (TSE:NG) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $5.63, but opened at $5.95. Novagold Resources shares last traded at $6.0120, with a volume of 1,176,397 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on NG. Zacks Research raised shares of Novagold Resources from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Novagold Resources from $13.80 to $13.60 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on Novagold Resources in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They issued a “speculative buy” rating and a $13.00 price target for the company. Finally, Scotiabank raised Novagold Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Novagold Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $13.22.

Novagold Resources Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.67 billion, a PE ratio of -35.96 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 112.82 and a quick ratio of 112.82.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NG. Electrum Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novagold Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $865,854,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Novagold Resources by 32,405.9% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,722,006 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $51,380,000 after buying an additional 5,704,403 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of Novagold Resources by 21.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 13,617,880 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $119,837,000 after acquiring an additional 2,443,511 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Novagold Resources by 520.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,906,123 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $11,886,000 after acquiring an additional 2,438,052 shares during the period. Finally, Greenwich Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Novagold Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $18,640,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.56% of the company’s stock.

Novagold Resources Company Profile

Novagold Resources Inc is a mineral exploration and development company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. The firm is focused on advancing large-scale precious metals projects through disciplined project management, environmental stewardship and community engagement. Novagold maintains a lean corporate structure while leveraging partnerships and industry expertise to advance its projects toward production.

The company’s flagship asset is the Donlin Gold project in Alaska, a 50/50 joint venture with Barrick Gold Corporation.