Analyst Update: Barrick Gold Corporation, Goldcorp Inc., and Yamana Gold Inc.

Analysts are weighing in on gold-centered stocks Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX), Goldcorp Inc. (USA) (NYSE:GG), and Yamana Gold Inc. (USA) (NYSE:AUY). Here's a quick roundup of today's brokerage notes on ABX, GG, and AUY.

• ABX is adding to what's been an unbelievable year, last seen 2.4% higher $21.27, putting the stock's year-to-date gain at 188%. Today's pop comes thanks to a price-target hike at Credit Suisse to $27 -- a 27% premium to current levels, and territory not seen since early 2013. More broadly speaking, the firm's analysts said they expect the gold and silver outperformance to continue. Barrick Gold Corporation could easily see more analyst-induced upside, too, since twelve of the 15 covering brokerage firms still rate this fast-rising stock a "hold" or "strong sell." 

• Credit Suisse also weighed in on GG, raising its price target to $22.50. Goldcorp Inc.'s 2016 lead now extends to 66%, with the shares last seen 2% higher at $19.16. In the options pits, traders have recently been buying to open puts over calls at a faster-than-usual pace. This is evidenced by GG's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.40 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which sits just 2 percentage points from a 12-month high. 

• AUY received an upgrade to "outperform" from "neutral" at Credit Suisse, which also raised its price target to $6.50 from $4.50. Nonetheless, the stock is 1.1% lower at $5.16 -- familiar territory for the shares. More specifically, Yamana Gold Inc. has been bouncing around in the $4.80 to $5.40 range for most of June, and bears are now starting to emerge. During the past two reporting periods, short interest on AUY jumped by 41.3%. 

For other stocks in analysts' crosshairs, read Analyst Upgrades: General Electric Company, TESARO Inc, and Yelp Inc and Analyst Downgrades: Tractor Supply Company, QUALCOMM, Inc., and Seagate Technology PLC.