Novagold Resources (NYSEAMERICAN:NG) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Novagold Resources Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN:NG) (TSE:NG) 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.

Key Novagold Resources News

Here are the key news stories impacting Novagold Resources this week:

• Positive Sentiment: NOVAGOLD announced definitive agreements to acquire 100% of Donlin Gold in an all-share transaction, a move expected to simplify development and financing while creating one of North America’s largest pure-play gold developers. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Gold-sector sentiment has improved after John Paulson said the gold bull market is still early, which may be boosting interest in early-stage gold stocks like NG. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several news reports highlighted that the transaction creates a roughly US$4.2 billion gold developer and that John Paulson and Dr. Thomas Kaplan will co-chair the new company, reinforcing the deal’s scale and visibility. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Investor-rights law firms have launched investigations into whether NOVAGOLD’s merger process and pricing are fair to shareholders, which could create legal uncertainty around the deal. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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 assumed coverage on Novagold Resources in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They set a “speculative buy” rating and a $13.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research raised Novagold Resources from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Novagold Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research 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 data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.22.

Novagold Resources Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a PE ratio of -34.82 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 112.82, a quick ratio of 112.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $7.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.90.

Novagold Resources (NYSEAMERICAN:NG) (TSE:NG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The mining company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Novagold Resources Inc. will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novagold Resources

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL grew its stake in Novagold Resources by 89.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 1,080,198 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $9,506,000 after purchasing an additional 510,253 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in shares of Novagold Resources by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 5,376,816 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $50,112,000 after purchasing an additional 606,000 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novagold Resources during the first quarter worth about $950,000. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novagold Resources during the fourth quarter worth about $18,640,000. Finally, Auxano Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Novagold Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $839,000. 57.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Novagold Resources

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.