Goldcorp (GG) (CAM) (CS) (HAL) (MEI) (SLB) (WFT) Had Ratings on Them Initiated

Goldcorp Inc. (GG), Cameron International Corp (CAM), Capstone Mining Corp. (CS), Halliburton (HAL), Manitok Energy (MEI), Schlumberger (SLB) and Weatherford (WFT) had ratings on them initiated by analysts.
 
Credit Suisse initiated coverage on Cameron International Corp (CAM). They placed an "Outperform" rating on the company.

BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Capstone Mining Corp. (CS) . They placed an "Outperform" rating on the company.

Barclays Capital initiated coverage on Goldcorp Inc. (GG). They placed an "Overweight" rating and price target of $62.00 on the company.

Credit Suisse initiated coverage on Halliburton (HAL). They placed an "Outperform" rating and price target of $44.00 on the company.

Stonecap Securities initiated coverage on Manitok Energy (MEI). They placed an "Outperform" rating and price target of $2.60 on the company.

Credit Suisse initiated coverage on Schlumberger (SLB). They placed a "Neutral" rating and price target of $66.00 on the company.

Credit Suisse initiated coverage on Weatherford (WFT). They placed a "Neutral" rating on the company.

Is Goldcorp (GG) a Good Deal at This Time?

Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) is one of largest gold miners in the world, although it has had a tough year in 2012, having just recently surpassed its price on January 1 of the year.

Lower gold prices and higher costs throughout the year have weighed on the company, although a rebound since the latter part of July where it was trading for under $33 a share has helped the company, as expectations of further stimulus, which were of course accurate assessments, helped push the price of gold up, along with its share price.

As measured by global resources, Goldcorp has one of the least expensive valuations of the gold miners. Others having competitive valuations based upon the same criteria are Eldorado Gold (EGO) and IAMGOLD (NYSE: IAG)

Also hindering the company for 2012 have been the drought which slowed production at its Penasquito mine, and also its Red Lake mine, where seismic activity interfered as well.

One positive for the year, and also going forward, is the 41 percent stake Goldcorp holds in Primero Mining (NYSE: PPP), which is poised to benefit Goldcorp as production at its San Dimas mine closes in on meeting full expectations.

With gold assuredly about to jump in the next several years, and support in place because of the open-ended QE3 implemented by the Federal Reserve and Ben Bernanke, it may be a good time to get in Goldcorp at a decent price before the temporary impact on its two major mines are over, and the price of gold begins to shoot up.

Once that happens, it's unlikely we'll see Goldcorp and some of the other miners at these prices again for some time to come.


 

Goldcorp (GG) Beats Expectations

Earnings for Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) beat analysts' estimates by $0.05, driving up the share price of the company in after hours trading.

For the quarter, Goldcorp reported earnings per share of $0.66 on revenue of $1.51 billion, up 14.8 percent over the same quarter last year, where it came in at $1.32 billion.

Goldcorp's ability to finish $0.05 above consensus for earnings, shows they managed costs better than expected, as the revenue was in line with consensus.

As for net income, that dropped 28 percent in the quarter, to $405 million, or 39 cents a share, against last year's $560 million, or 75 cents a share.

Gold production in the fourth quarter for Goldcorp dropped to 687,900 ounces from 689,600 ounces last year in the same quarter, a decline of 0.2 percent.

Costs were still a factor for Goldcorp though, as they rose to $261 an ounce, soaring 59 percent. On a co-product basis cost were up $550 to $600 an ounce.

Concerning gold production projections, according to CEO Chuck Jeannes, the company is on target to produce 2.6 million ounces of gold in 2012, up from $2.51 million ounces in 2011. The goal of Jeannes is to bring production levels up to $4.2 million ounces by 2016.

In early January Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) boosted its price target on Goldcorp to $58.00 a share.

Goldcorp closed Wednesday at $45.27, losing $0.18, or 0.40 percent. In after hours trading, shares jumped to $46.25, rising 0.98, or 2.16 percent.

Goldcorp (GG) (SSRI) (TC) (JBLU) (KBH) Downgraded

Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG), Silver Standard Resources Inc. (NASDAQ: SSRI), Thompson Creek Metals Co Inc (NYSE: TC), Jetblue Airways (NASDAQ: JBLU) and KB Home (NYSE: KBH) were downgraded by analysts.

Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) downgraded Goldcorp Inc. (GG) from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating.

Deutsche Bank downgraded Silver Standard Resources Inc. (SSRI) from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating.

Deutsche Bank downgraded Thompson Creek Metals (TC) from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) downgraded Jetblue Airways Corporation (JBLU) to an “underweight” rating.

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded KB Home (KBH) from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating. They have a price target of $9.00 on the company, down from $13.00.

Goldcorp closed Tuesday at $49.32, gaining $1.88, or 3.96 percent. Silver Standard Resources closed at $27.02, jumping $0.75, or 2.85 percent. Thompson Creek Metals closed at $10.10, falling $0.03, or 0.30 percent. Jetblue Airways ended the day at $5.96, losing $0.29, or 4.64 percent. KB Home closed at $9.92, down $0.25, or 2.46 percent.

Yamana (AUY) (GG) (NEM) (EGO) (KGC) Close Down as Gold Prices Fall

Yamana Gold (NYSE:AUY), Goldcorp (NYSE:GG), Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM), Eldorado Gold Corporation (NYSE:EGO) and Kinross Gold Corp (NYSE:KGC) all closed down as gold prices fell on Tuesday.

Gold for August delivery fell in New York to $1,544 an ounce, a loss of $3.20.

The euro strengthened against the U.S. dollar, to a high of $1.4696. The dollar was also down against the Swiss franc to 0.8327. Against a basket of major currencies the dollar dropped to 73.506.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 19.15 points, or 0.16 percent, to close at 12,070.81. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 1.23 points, or 0.10 percent, to end at 1,284.94. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 1.00 point, or 0.04 percent, to close at 2,701.56.

Yamana Gold closed Tuesday at $12.02, down $0.13, or 1.07 percent. Goldcorp ended the day at $47.99, falling $0.39, or 0.81 percent. Newmont Mining closed at $52.94, declining $0.50, or 0.94 percent. Eldorado Gold ended at $14.52, dropping $0.23, or 1.56 percent. Kinross closed at $15.44, losing $0.17, or 1.09 percent.

NovaGold (NG) (GG) (NEM) (GFI) (ABX) Lag Rising Gold Prices

NovaGold Resources Inc. (AMEX:NG), Goldcorp (NYSE:GG), Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM), Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI) and Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) all closed down Wednesday, lagging behind rising gold prices responding to a fragile and weak American economy, as well as weak manufacturing numbers from China and the EU.

Gold and silver went in opposite directions on Wednesday after an employment report from the ADP said an anemic 38,000 jobs were added in May, while the figure for April was downwardly revised by 2,000.

Weak manufacturing numbers from China, the U.S. and the European Union pressed on silver, although it did gain some back as the trading day advanced.

News that Germany may get behind another bailout of the insolvent Greece was also considered a positive by the market, and could put some pressure on gold if the €60 billion expected to be lent to Greece is put into effect.

The realization the United States is in fact not in a recovery is counteracting the positive news out of Europe, and will probably be a stronger determining factor in gold and silver prices than any other consideration.

Gold for August delivery climbed $6.40 to $1,543.20 an ounce. Silver for July delivery was down 61.1 cents to settle at $37.694 an ounce.

Kinross Gold was able to close slightly in positive territory on Wednesday. Most of the major gold miners were trading up after hours.

Barrick closed at $47.28, falling $0.48, or 1.01 percent. NovaGold ended the session at $11.23, dropping $0.23, or 2.01 percent. Newmont closed at $55.67, down $0.90, or 1.59 percent. Goldcorp was at $49.46, declining $0.61, or 1.22 percent. Gold Fields ended at $16.05, falling $0.39, or 2.37 percent.

Barrick's (ABX) Pueblo Viejo Project to be Delayed

After heavy rainfalls early last week, Barrick Gold's (NYSE:ABX) Pueblo Viejo project in the Dominican Republic will probably not start during its planned launch in the first quarter of 2012.

The tailings facility at Pueblo Viejo has damaged from the large build-up of rainwater, which the giant miner is now working on. The facility hasn't been fully constructed yet and work still must be done to bring to its full capacity.

A damage assessment is ongoing concerning what the depth the effect will be on the launch timeline as well as the budget originally set aside for preproduction costs.

Costs for the project are already weighing on Barrick, as well as partner in the project, Goldcorp (NYSE:GG), which have had cost estimated boosted to a range of $3.3 billion to $3.5 billion in 2011 so far. This will assuredly add to the mounting costs.

An estimated 1.04 million to 1.13 million ounces of gold are expected to be produced at Pueblo Viejo during the first five years of operation. Cash costs per ounce are projected to be from $250 an ounce to $275 an ounce.

Barrick Gold has a 60 percent stake in the project while Goldcorp has the remaining 40 percent.

Newmont (NEM) (GG) (ABX) (NG) (EGO) Trade Higher as Gold Jumps

A weakened U.S. dollar and dismal data about an 11.6 percent drop in pending home sales has offered gold and silver prices support today, with major miners like Newmont Gold (NYSE:NEM), Goldcorp (NYSE:GG), Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX), Novagold (NYSE:NG) and Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO) all trading in positive territory.

Gold for June delivery was up $10.60 to $1,533.40 an ounce at the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. It has traded in a range of $1,518.40 to $1,535.50.

Silver prices were climbing 64 cents to $37.97 an ounce while the U.S. dollar index fell to $75.08, losing 0.66 percent.

Kitco.com senior analyst Jon Nadler said he believes thinks gold will have to wait to gain momentum until after Memorial Day weekend. "I think you're looking at bargain hunters in the $1,480-$1,500 range in gold but again we have to overcome decisively the $1,530-$1,540 area until we can talk about higher levels."

Eldorado Gold was trading at $16.07, gaining $0.26, or 1.64 percent, as of 12:36 PM EDT. NovaGold was at $11.53, up $0.24, or 2.17 percent. Newmont Mining was trading at $56.62, rising $0.79, or 1.42 percent. Goldcorp was at $50.19, climbing $0.26, or 0.52 percent. Barrick Gold was at $47.63, jumping $0.46, or 0.98 percent.

Barrick (ABX) (GFI) (GG) (NEM) Close Up Even as Gold Settles Slightly Down

Shares of Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX), Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI), Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) and Newmont Mining all closed up on Thursday, even as gold prices traded slightly down.

Gold for June delivery declined $3.90, or 0.3 percent, to $1,522.80 an ounce.

Gold for August delivery was down $4.10, or 0.3 percent, to $1,523.70 an ounce in the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

July silver fell 31 cents to settle at $37.33 an ounce, lower by 0.8 percent.

Trading was light as we approach Memorial Day weekend in the United States.

The U.S. dollar was weaker, as was economic data, but it wasn't enough to push up the price of gold, while other metals traded mixed.

First-time jobless claims were up again last week, jumping 10,000 remain above the 400,000 mark.

Barrick Gold closed at $47.12, rising $0.31 or 0.7 percent. Gold Fields ended at $16.10, up $0.27 or 1.7 percent, to . Goldcorp closed at $49.76, gaining $0.22 or 0.4 percent. Newmont Mining ended the session at $55.61, jumping $0.40 or 0.7 percent.

Goldcorp (GG) Attracts Positive Analyst Attention

A number of analysts commented on different aspects of Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) recent, with the majority of them taking on a bullish tone.

JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) recently boosted its price target on Goldcorp from $60 to $68.

Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) also recently upgraded Goldcorp from a "Hold" rating to a "Buy" rating.

Also upgrading the gold mining giant was HSBC (NYSE:HBC), which boosted the company from a "Neutral" to an "Overweight."

Goldcorp Inc. participates in the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of precious metal properties in North and South America.

Goldcorp closed Thursday at $48.36, dropping $0.29, or 0.60 percent.

Goldcorp (NYSE:GG), Barrick (NYSE:ABX), Newmont (NYSE:NEM) and Kinross (NYSE:KGC) All Up on Record Gold Prices

Weak economic news from Europe, confirming the ongoing weak global economy, has shares of Goldcorp (NYSE:GG), Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX), Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) and Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC) all moving up with the price of gold.

Gold on the New York Mercantile Exchange reached a record high of $1273.40, jumping $25.90 for December delivery.

A weaker U.S. dollar may have contributed a little earlier in the session, but the price movement of gold shows investors aren't buying into the hype that there is an economic recovery.

Mainstream financial news targets every bit of positive for their man Obama, while lightly covering the economic disaster growing under his administration.

Investors and business know the real conditions, and the ongoing weakness confirms we're a long way from any real recovery, and gold will continue its long bull run in response to those realities.

Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) Acquires Andean (TSE:AND) for $3.4 Billion

Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE:GG) said today it has made a deal with Andean Resources (TSE:AND) to acquire all their outstanding shares for $3.4 billion. That's a 35 percent premium over their Thursday close on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The Cerro Negro gold project in Argentina is the major impetus behind the interest of Goldcorp in Andean.

Chuck Jeannes, Goldcorp President and Chief Executive Officer said, "This transaction adds another key asset to Goldcorp's peer-leading growth profile and low-cost gold production pipeline. Cerro Negro is a high-grade, near-surface system that is expected to generate significant gold production at low cash operating costs following a relatively short construction period. As well, the potential exists for discoveries of new veins within this large, prospective land position."

The deal has already been approved by boards of Goldcorp and Andean unanimously, and should close in the latter part of 2010 or the early part of 2011.

Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) Close to Commerical Production at Penasquito

Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE:GG) is close to completing the construction phase of its Penasquito mine in Mexico, and president and chief executive officer, Chuck Jeannes, said he anticipates, in the near future, announcing commercial production has launched.

“We’re just completing construction and, hopefully within just a matter of days, of declaring commercial production at Penasquito,” Jeannes said.

Jeannes added, the project remains on schedule, and is within the projected budget of $1.7 billion.

The Penasquito mine project is the major impetus behind the strategy by Goldcorp of increasing their production by 50 percent over above, over the next five years.

The first year of the mine should produce 180,000 ounces of gold, increasing to an average of about 500,000 ounces a year, topping off at about 800,000 ounces of gold produced by 2014.

Gold reserves at estimated at 17.8 million ounces, and silver reserves at 30 million ounces. There is also zinc and lead in the mine.

Barrick (NYSE:ABX), Newmont (NYSE:NEM), Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) Up on Rising Gold Prices

The gold price today moved up quickly in the morning, and has remained level as the trading day goes on, with major gold miners Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX), Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) and Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) moving up with them, as investors continue to seek safety in the midst of economic weakness and uncertainty.

Spot gold was up $11.20, bringing the price to $1,247.60 an ounce as of 2:39 PM EDT. Gold prices are starting to move downward slightly now, although remaining flat after the huge jump in the morning.

Barrick Gold was at $46.95, gaining $0.61, or 1.32 percent at 2:40 PM EDT. Goldcorp reached $44.40, an increase of $0.67, or 1.53 percent, as of 2:41 PM EDT. Newmont Mining was up the most of the three, reaching $61.27, up $1.35, or 2.25 percent.

Out of control government spending which has done little, if anything, for the economy, and continued bad news from most parts of the economy have investors scrambling to gold to protect their capital, while at the same time enjoying decent returns.

Lihir Gold (Nasdaq:LIHR) Posts $87 Million Profit

Lihir Gold, Limited (Nasdaq:LIHR), which is soon to be taken over by Newcrest Mining (ASX:NCM), turned around in the first half, generating net earnings of $87 million, after losing $301 million in the same period a year ago.

Once the merger between the two companies is completed, Lihir will be included as part of the fourth-largest gold company in the world, behind Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX), Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM), and Goldcorp (NYSE:GG).

Guidance for production remained the same as prior estimates, with expectations of 1 million to 1.1 million ounces of gold to be mined for the full year.

Eldorado (NYSE:EGO), Barrick (NYSE:ABX), Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) Soar as Investors Flock to Gold

The realization we've never left the recession is starting to be realized by a growing number of investors, and gold miners like Eldorado Gold Corp. (NYSE:EGO), Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) and Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) are soaring today as gold prices continue their upward march with investors seeking safety.

Gold prices are approaching two-month highs, up to $1,240, a gain of $10.20, as of 1:15 PM EDT.

Continuing bad news concerning the economy is the major reason for the resumption in gold prices surging upward. As the stimulus money leaves the system the underlying weakness is again in the face of investors who see it did nothing but hide the economic disaster, rather than do anything to help.

And calls for more stimulus have people extremely worried as economic report after economic report, including the plunge in sales of previously-owned homes plunging, and a record low in sales of new homes, which plunged to an annual rate of 276,600, along with a 12.4 percent decline in July.

A report from the Commerce Department also revealed orders for durable goods failed to meet expectations, indicating continued weakness in the manufacturing sector.

Gold prices today show the future pattern, and gold mining companies will be the beneficiaries of this strong move as the disaster the economy really is becomes to be understood more fully by investors, who will increasingly use gold investments as a safe haven.

Goldcorp (NYSE:GG), Novagold (NYSE:NG), IAMGOLD (NYSE:IAG) Down as Gold Prices Level

Gold prices dropped slightly Monday, with gold miners like Goldcorp (NYSE:GG), Novagold (NYSE:NG), IAMGOLD (NYSE:IAG) falling disportionately with them, along with many other miners.

Gold for December delivery on Monday fell 30 cents to $1,228.50 an ounce at the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Volume was light on the day. Spot gold dropped $1 dollar also in the session.

Goldcorp ended the trading day at $41.09, falling $0.80, or 1.91 percent.

Iamgold finished at $17.68, losing $0.41, or 2.27 percent.

Novagold closed at $6.58, down $0.21, or 3.09 percent.

Much of this came from temporary euphoria over mergers and acquisitions interest, which provided a temporary burst of optimism to the markets, but which is already starting to be discounted as limited in scope and in no way will expand to numerous companies.

Gold will probably continue to take a breather before taking off in the next couple of weeks, depending on the economic data coming out, which continues to be very weak.

Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO) Fastest Growing Company in 2010

It's interesting and not all that surprising that the usual fastest-growing company in 2010 isn't a tech company, but rather, a gold miner. In this case, Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO), according to Fortune Magazine's list of the '100 Fastest-Growing Companies for 2010.'

Surprisingly, Eldorado Gold was the only gold miner on the list, although if gold prices continue to rise as they're expected to, that should change.

One problem that is accompanying the rise in gold prices, especially for smaller and mid-tier miners, is that costs have been rising along with prices, and these miners usually are highly leveraged and unable to control costs in the way better-positioned gold miners like Eldorado are, or major miners like Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX), Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) and Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) are able to, although even there some are struggling more than in the past.

For Eldorado, their competitive advantage is their position in China, where they are able to produce gold at lower costs than their competitors who either aren't exposed there, or have limited exposure.

There is also the increase in demand from China, which is now the fastest-growing consumer of gold in the world, and second in consumption only behind India.

With that in mind and Eldorado strongly positioned to supply growing demand at low costs, they should have a solid future in reference to growth, assuming they can keep costs under control.

Barrick (NYSE:ABX), Goldcorp (NYSE:GG), Newmont (NYSE:NEM), Agnico-Eagle (AEM) All Up as Gold Rebounds

After starting off slow in earlier in the trading session, gold prices today advanced in the afternoon, pulling the share prices of major gold miners like Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX), Goldcorp (NYSE:GG), Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) and Agnico-Eagle (AEM) up with it.

The story for gold prices at this time is the revelation the American and global economy isn't even close to being robust and in a recovery as asserted in the not too distant past, which has not only added support under gold, but has aided it in continuing its inevitable long-term upward climb in price.

All the major gold miners listed above had gains of 2 percent or better as of about 3:10 PM EDT in New York. Trading volume was below the 3-month average for all of them though, especially with Newmont Mining and Barrick Gold.

After the stimulus had been lowered and/or removed, the economy has been seen to be as naked as it really has been all along, and continued spending can't and won't change that.

But that won't keep the Treasury and Federal Reserve from continuing to take steps which over the long term will devastate the economy, but will be a reason to invest in gold for a long time to come.

Eton Park Buys SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEArca:GLD), Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI) in Last Quarter

Eton Park Capital Management LP, the $13 billion hedge fund run by Eric Mindich, moved a significant amount of capital into the gold market last quarter, acquiring shares of SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEArca:GLD) and Gold Fields Ltd. (NYSE:GFI).

Mindich acquired 6.58 million shares of SPDR and 780,000 shares of Gold Fields in the quarter via Eton Park.

SPDR Gold Shares has been one of the favorites of hedge funds in the past, and continues to be. Other major hedge fund holders of SPDR include John Paulson and George Soros, although both held their positions and didn't add any shares last quarter.

They did add gold miners, including Gold Fields by Paulson and Soros as well.

Major gold miners were targeted by major hedge funds in general, with Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX), Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) and Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) among the largest increase in holding for funds, accounting for the sixth, seventh and eight places in the order listed above.

SPDR Gold Shares landed in second place as far as the greatest increase in investments from hedge funds in the latest quarter, with all of them together holding 68.2 million shares in SPDR.

With data showing a continuing weak global and American economy, we should see an even larger increase for the current quarter of hedge fund holdings in gold.