Analyst Update: Agnico Eagle Mines, Newmont Mining

Precious metals stocks are moving higher today, thanks to a sharp jump in gold. Three such names that saw analyst attention this morning were Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd (USA) (NYSE:AEM), Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM), and Eldorado Gold Corp (USA) (NYSE:EGO). Here's a quick look at today's brokerage notes on AEM, NEM, and EGO.

• AEM is up 5% at $31, despite a price-target cut from Barclays -- which reaffirmed its "equal weight" rating -- to $32 from $35. The stock is now nearly 9% higher year-over-year. Accordingly, the rest of the brokerage bunch has taken a mostly bullish stance toward Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd, as it boasts 12 "buy" or better ratings, five "holds," and zero "sells." Also, the security's average 12-month price target of $41.28 stands at a 33.2% premium to current trading levels.


• NEM is also shrugging off a $3 price-target cut (to $22 from $25) and "equal weight" reiteration at Barclays, as the stock has added 6.5% to trade at $21.04. From a broader perspective, though, the equity has struggled, underperforming the S&P 500 Index (SPX) by over 18 percentage points in the last 60 sessions. These technical issues have attracted option bears, as Newmont Mining Corp's 50-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) put/call volume ratio of 0.71 ranks in the 84th percentile of its annual range, implying puts have been bought to open over calls at a faster-than-usual rate.


• Lastly, EGO is 7% higher at $7.16, even after Barclays cut its price target by $1 to $7, while keeping its "equal weight" assessment. Today's price action puts the stock 12.4% higher year-over-year. Eldorado Gold Corp's technical strength certainly hasn't gone unnoticed by bullish speculators. At the ISE, CBOE, PHLX, options traders have bought to open over 48 calls for each put in the last two weeks. The resultant call/put volume ratio of 48.52 ranks in the 74th percentile of its annual range.