AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) Short Interest Up 8.0% in January

AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) was the target of a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,550,000 shares, a growth of 8.0% from the December 31st total of 5,140,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,140,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

Shares of AU stock traded up $0.01 on Tuesday, hitting $31.21. 406,078 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,333,610. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business has a 50-day moving average of $25.54 and a 200 day moving average of $27.21. AngloGold Ashanti has a fifty-two week low of $16.49 and a fifty-two week high of $32.57.

Institutional Trading of AngloGold Ashanti

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AU. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the fourth quarter worth about $69,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the third quarter worth about $126,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 378.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,782 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $127,000 after acquiring an additional 3,782 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 72.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,991 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $151,000 after buying an additional 2,520 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on AU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. Scotiabank raised AngloGold Ashanti from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Investec raised AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised AngloGold Ashanti from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.75.

AngloGold Ashanti Company Profile

AngloGold Ashanti plc operates as a gold mining company in Africa, Australia, and the Americas. The company primarily explores for gold, as well as produces silver and sulphuric acid as by-products. Its flagship property is a 100% owned Geita mine located in the Lake Victoria goldfields of the Mwanza region in north-western Tanzania.