Could it be worse for these gold stocks? This morning RBC Capital downgraded Barrick Gold (ABX), one of the best of the best, from buy to hold. The stock got smacked pretty hard.
It's no surprise. While investors went positive on many sectors they had been negative on since 2012 began, the hatred for this group knows no bounds, even as gold is up nicely since year-end.
Agnico-Eagle (AEM), for example, is back to the low it hit when gold was $100 lower. Goldcorp (GG) can't get any traction, even as the CEO told us that the growth is back and things are looking up after a couple of miserable quarters.
Randgold (GOLD), after a nice burst up, has retreated all the way down to where it reported a quarter that was shrugged off as a transition quarter to better things.
And Newmont Mining (NEM), which is doing its best to return capital to shareholders, is down 3% for the year and nearing its 52-week low.
Many people told me that this is the year to switch from the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD)/iShares Gold Trust (IAU) to the miners because they are so out of whack vs. the price of gold.
I don't think they are out of whack at all. The price of gold no longer seems to be much of a factor with the gold mining stocks as this year's numbers show.
It's about how much it costs to get out of the ground; how much the overruns are; how all of the easy gold has been found.
To me, with Europe about to print money to expand its economy, there's no time like today to start buying some GLD.
But the miners?
Sold to you.
Random musings: It's amazing, but people are saying that McDonald's (MCD) is selling off because of currency worries. Talk about a fomented reason. How bogus is that. Just something to hang the sellers' hats on if you ask me.
