AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) shares gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $23.90, but opened at $23.34. AngloGold Ashanti shares last traded at $23.24, with a volume of 299,419 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $26.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $9.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.40 and a beta of 0.95.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 3rd quarter valued at $126,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 72.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,991 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $151,000 after acquiring an additional 2,520 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the 3rd quarter valued at about $222,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti during the 2nd quarter valued at about $227,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 12,279 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 682 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

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.