Novagold Resources (NYSEAMERICAN:NG) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Novagold Resources Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN:NG) (TSE:NG) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $8.08, but opened at $8.66. Novagold Resources shares last traded at $8.2750, with a volume of 781,986 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. B. Riley Financial raised their price target on Novagold Resources from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Novagold Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Novagold Resources in a research note on Friday, February 6th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Novagold Resources from $18.00 to $14.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.17.

Novagold Resources Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.08 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s fifty day moving average is $10.55 and its 200 day moving average is $9.55. The company has a current ratio of 23.79, a quick ratio of 23.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Dawn Patricia Whittaker purchased 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $9.36 per share, for a total transaction of $37,440.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 4,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,440. This represents a ? increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 2.39% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novagold Resources

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NG. Electrum Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novagold Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $865,854,000. Lingotto Investment Management LLP boosted its position in shares of Novagold Resources by 60.7% during the second quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP now owns 34,902,954 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $142,753,000 after purchasing an additional 13,180,065 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Novagold Resources by 23.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,587,516 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $128,840,000 after purchasing an additional 2,815,780 shares during the period. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in Novagold Resources by 21.9% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 13,617,880 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $119,837,000 after purchasing an additional 2,443,511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Novagold Resources by 520.9% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,906,123 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $11,886,000 after buying an additional 2,438,052 shares during the period. 57.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.