Vista Gold (NYSEAMERICAN:VGZ) Stock Rating Lowered by HC Wainwright

Vista Gold (NYSEAMERICAN:VGZ) was downgraded by HC Wainwright from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat reports.

Vista Gold Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of VGZ traded down $0.02 on Friday, reaching $2.62. 3,630,985 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,523,242. The stock has a market cap of $382.44 million, a PE ratio of -26.20 and a beta of 1.35. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.28. Vista Gold has a 52-week low of $1.49 and a 52-week high of $3.13.

Vista Gold (NYSEAMERICAN:VGZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Analysts forecast that Vista Gold will post -0.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vista Gold

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VGZ. Kopernik Global Investors LLC lifted its holdings in Vista Gold by 461.6% during the first quarter. Kopernik Global Investors LLC now owns 13,852,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,150,000 after purchasing an additional 11,385,421 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vista Gold in the first quarter valued at about $1,677,000. Markel Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vista Gold in the third quarter valued at about $1,667,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Vista Gold in the second quarter worth about $556,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Vista Gold by 5.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 238,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $467,000 after acquiring an additional 11,249 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.29% of the company’s stock.

About Vista Gold

Vista Gold Corp. is a gold development company focused on advancing mineral projects toward potential production. Its activities include evaluating, exploring and developing gold assets; it is not primarily an operating gold producer. The company’s principal asset is the 100%-owned Mt Todd gold project in Australia’s Northern Territory, near the town of Katherine. Vista has focused its work there on assessing the project’s development potential and refining its plans for a possible mine. Vista Gold is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.