Bayer, Desert Gold, Snowflake – Breakout imminent

Desert Gold Ventures – Hot takeover target

Even though Donald Trump has backtracked on import tariffs against the European Union, uncertainty remains. Peace efforts in the Ukraine are conflicting, and other global hotspots are also on shaky ground. There is no question that gold will remain the number one crisis currency in the coming years, likely leading to rising prices. Although the precious metal is racing from one high to the next, gold exploration companies, in particular, are treading water.

Historically, however, they tend to lag behind during prolonged uptrends and then perform with leverage, which should result in significant outperformance.

Similarly, in the past, major gold producers have experienced a significant increase in acquisition activity during similar phases. A hot takeover candidate is the Canadian company Desert Gold Ventures, which operates the Senegal Mali Shear Zone Project (SMSZ) in West Africa. Of particular interest is the location of the 440 sq km property, which is surrounded by producing mines owned by giants such as Barrick Gold, B2Gold, Allied Gold, and Endeavour Mining.

It is obvious that any acquiring party should act quickly if they do not want to pay a premium. The experienced management team led by CEO Jared Scharf is currently stepping on the gas. Around 30,000 meters of drilling are to be completed this year. Another important milestone is the publication of the preliminary economic assessment (PEA). If this exceeds expectations, Desert Gold's current market capitalization of just under CAD 20 million could be a thing of the past.

In their latest analysis, analysts at GBC AG set a price target of CAD 0.42, representing a potential upside of 424% on the current price.

Bayer – Recovery rally continues

Although the DAX plunged by more than 600 points last Friday, the badly battered agricultural and pharmaceutical giant, Bayer defended the gains it had made the day before and, at EUR 24.51, is only marginally behind the striking horizontal resistance level of EUR 25.46. A sustained break above the previous high for the year would signal fresh buying interest and trigger follow-up purchases. The relative strength index and the trend-following MACD, both of which generated buy signals, would provide tailwinds for the share price until the next hurdle, the resistance zone from last September.

The positive signs of the past few trading days were due to the news that Bayer received a positive recommendation for its eye medication Eylea 8mg from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency. This concerns the extension of treatment intervals for two retinal diseases – wet age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macular edema – to up to six months. Until now, treatment has only been approved at intervals of up to five months.

Since Eylea is injected directly into the eyeball, extending the intervals significantly benefits patients. In 2024, Bayer generated revenue of EUR 3.3 billion with the drug. Although patent protection for the active ingredient aflibercept expires in November, Bayer holds patents for the high-dose formulation in various applications.

Snowflake – On the verge of a breakout

A major buy signal is imminent for the US technology company specializing in cloud-based data platforms. The Snowflake share price is on the verge of breaking out of the range it has been trading in since May 2022 - with the key resistance level at USD 205.66 on the upside. A sustained breakout from this constellation would offer upside potential of over 100%. The next target would then be the 2021 high of USD 405.

Strong quarterly figures that smashed analyst estimates, along with a positive outlook for the full year 2025 and the raising of targets for the coming year 2026 - due to increasing corporate investment in artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure - have prompted several analyst firms to raise their price targets for Snowflake.

Brad Zelnick of Deutsche Bank confirmed his "Buy" recommendation and raised his price target by USD 5 to USD 225. The expert particularly praised Snowflake's ability to compete for AI workloads. Bank of America is also bullish, raising its price target from USD 172 to USD 220. However, analysts see structural challenges here.

"The solid results show positive trends in the existing customer business. However, new customer business was subdued. It remains to be seen whether new workloads can compensate for core growth in the long term."

Donald Trump's tariff policy resembles a rollercoaster ride, causing uncertainty on the stock market. As a result, investors are increasingly turning to gold, which should boost producers and exploration companies such as Desert Gold. Bayer continues its recovery thanks to extended approval, while Snowflake is on the verge of a significant buy signal.