Key Takeaways
- Freeport-McMoRan, Hudbay Minerals, and Alamos Gold got upgrades from Bank of America, which said it is bullish on copper and gold prices.
- Bank of America analysts said the mining stocks could benefit from a constructive outlook for copper, with demand driven by energy transition tailwinds and limited supply.
- Bank of America predicted gold prices could go beyond their current all-time high and hit $3,000 by the end of next year.
Shares of Freeport-McMoRan (FCX), Hudbay Minerals (HBM), and Alamos Gold (AGI) gained in intraday trading Tuesday as Bank of America (BAC) upgraded the mining stocks on optimism about the outlook for copper and gold prices. Bank of America raised its rating on all three stocks to “buy” from “neutral.”
Bank of America said its commodities team sees “a particularly constructive outlook on copper” because of robust demand driven by energy transition tailwinds and constrained supply.
The bank noted Freeport-McMoRan benefited from “high quality copper leverage, robust and rising free cash flow, and material gold revenue.” It said Hudbay Minerals had “robust near-term free cash flow, a smoothed longer-term copper production profile (post acquiring Copper Mountain), debt deleveraging, material gold revenue, and an attractive valuation.”
Bank of America’s commodities team said it has become “materially more bullish on gold prices,” with the price of gold driven up by central banks and Chinese investors, as well as Western buyers on macroeconomic factors, including an end to the interest rate hike cycle. The team projects gold hitting $3,000 per ounce by the end of 2025, more than $600 above its current record-high level. Bank of America noted its new rating of Alamos Gold was based on that view and the firm’s recent acquisition of Argonaut Gold.
Shares of Freeport-McMoRan and Hudbay Minerals reached their highest levels in more than two years. Alamos Gold shares hit levels not seen in more than a decade.
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