GOLD and ARMAMENTS unstoppable: Renk outperforms Hensoldt – Barrick Gold and First Nordic Metals with MOMENTUM

First Nordic Metals: Gold insider tip goes full throttle

First Nordic Metals, the gold insider tip we first presented in January, is going full steam ahead. The stock has gained around 15% in just two weeks and is now trading at around CAD 0.50 on its home exchange. Turnover is picking up on German stock exchanges. This is likely to be just the beginning, as the gold exploration areas of First Nordic Metals are in Scandinavia, and the Company is planning to be listed on the Swedish stock exchange Nasdaq First North Growth in the first quarter. This is fitting, as First Nordic Metals aims to become the new gold producer in Europe with its projects in Sweden and Finland. Investors can look forward to a lively news flow in the coming weeks.

In a joint venture with the gold group Agnico Eagle, the Barsele gold project in northern Sweden is being developed. First Nordic Metals has properties in the immediate vicinity of this project, along with the Paubäcken, Storjuktan, and Klippen projects. Together, all projects cover an area of 104,000 hectares within a regional Gold Line belt.

On Monday, First Nordic Metals announced the start of a new drilling program. In the coming weeks, targeted "top-of-bedrock" ("BoT") drilling will be carried out in two areas within the Paubäcken project. BoT drilling is important for discovering and delineating mineral deposits in the Nordic countries in preparation for upcoming diamond core drilling. The latter are also planned for the current year. The program comprises up to 180 BoT drill holes and is designed to explore a 5km-long, wide gold, arsenic, copper and zinc (Au-, As-, Cu- and Zn-) till anomaly.

Important for shareholders: First Nordic Metals successfully completed a capital increase as recently as November. A private placement generated gross proceeds of CAD 11.5 million.

Barrick: "Gold has truly arrived as the ultimate store of value"

Despite a record gold price, Barrick Gold shares have struggled in recent months. Investors were concerned about the problems at the Barrick mine in Mali. The capital market is also not really convinced by the activities of the gold and copper heavyweight in Pakistan. It is criticized that Barrick has been reluctant to take over and that the focus is more on projects in countries with rather tricky conditions. The counterexample is Agnico Eagle. The group focuses on projects in "safe" countries, as the joint venture with First Nordic Metals in Sweden shows, making First Nordic Metals quite the takeover candidate.

In the past few trading days, the stock has been trading positively again and is currently priced above USD 17, its highest level since mid-December 2024. News from Mali is boosting investor sentiment.

In an interview with the news service Bloomberg, Barrick CEO Mark Bristow reported progress in negotiations with the regime in Mali. Barrick had suspended operations at the mine there in January due to a dispute with the regime. Bristow told Bloomberg: "Mali has put itself in a position where it is really trying to shake money out of the industry in the short term, and that industry is the foundation of the economy. We are not making progress as quickly as I would expect, but I am sure that everyone is being a little cautious."

During the call, Bristow also said that the Company intends to continue focusing on organic growth and share buybacks. This may not please all shareholders, as this strategy has not been successful so far. In conclusion, Bristow was still bullish about the gold price in his conversation with Bloomberg: "We see a continuation of the de-dollarization, fueled by the actions of Washington and the White House. Conflicts on all continents. Gold has truly arrived as the ultimate store of value, and people are buying physical assets."

Renk: Another 30% price increase?

Like First Nordic Metals, Renk's stock has also awakened in the new year. With a price jump of around 31% in 2025, the transmission specialist's stock – particularly in the defense sector – has broken out of the downward trend and is currently trading just over EUR 24. The share's performance since the beginning of the year is even better than that of the German industry leader Rheinmetall and almost twice as strong as that of Hensoldt. However, to continue this, a stronger news flow is needed. While Rheinmetall recently reported a new billion-euro deal with the German armed forces, Renk "only" released preliminary figures. At least it was announced that supervisory board member Doreen Nowotne had bought Renk shares – even if it is a modest amount of around EUR 30,000.

To reach the analysts' average price target, the Renk share still has plenty of room to rise. According to marketscreener.com, 8 out of 9 analysts recommend the security as a "Buy". The average price target is around EUR 31, leaving room for a further 30% price potential.

Gold and armaments should remain trending topics for the rest of the year. From the White House, Donald Trump will keep the markets on tenterhooks with surprising announcements and push gold as a safe haven. In the gold explorer space, First Nordic Metals is an exciting insider tip with the prospect of share-boosting newsflow. There is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding Barrick Gold, although a lot – perhaps too much – negativity seems to be priced into the share price. Renk has further catch-up potential. However, one or two positive operational announcements are needed.