Gold price above USD 3,000! Stocks on the verge of a breakout! Barrick Gold, TUI, Benton Resources!

Benton Resources: Takeover candidate on the verge of a breakout?

More good news for gold bulls! The price per fine ounce has broken through the magical USD 3,000 barrier. And it seems that this level can be maintained. Yesterday, the fine ounce was trading solidly above USD 3,020. This should lead to a further rise in the stocks of gold producers and explorers. Not only does the Barrick Gold stock have some catching up to do, but also the Benton Resources stock.

With a valuation of less than EUR 15 million, the Canadians are still a hidden gem. This should change in the coming months. With its focus on a gold-copper project in Newfoundland, Canada, the Company can be described as a "small Barrick" and could become a takeover candidate as the year progresses. Benton is currently pursuing an extensive drilling program and is confident that it will further increase the historical resource estimate of its project. Link to the management presentation).

Benton Resources' core project is the Great Burnt copper-gold project, which has an estimated mineral resource of 667,000 tons at 3.21% Cu (indicated) and 482,000 tons at 2.35% Cu (inferred). The Company is confident that it will be able to significantly expand the historical resource and identify other base metals such as zinc and nickel in addition to copper and gold. A corresponding drilling program is already underway.

As part of the drilling program, Benton recently announced that it is further exploring the high-grade copper mineralization in the Great Burnt Main Zone. The aim is also to reclassify a section previously classified as less high-grade by further drilling. In addition, further drilling is underway at the North Stringer Zone. There, two significant zones of heavy stringer to semi-massive mineralization are believed to extend beneath the surface area.

Overall, the current drill program, which to date totals 3,220 meters, is focused on areas where highly anomalous copper and gold mineralization has already been identified at surface. Assay results are expected soon.

Based on the expected news flow and the current market capitalization, the stock currently appears to be anything but highly valued.

Barrick Gold: Bullish for the coming years

If the resource at Benton continues to grow this year, a takeover by Barrick Gold would be a strategic fit in any case. As part of its annual report, Barrick Gold has given a confident outlook. Having met its production forecast, Barrick is aiming for strong growth in the coming years. To this end, the Company made significant progress on its key growth projects last year. During the year, Barrick completed feasibility studies for the Lumwana Super Pit Expansion in Zambia and the Reko Diq project in Pakistan. Both projects confirmed their Tier 1 potential. In the process, Lumwana has 8.3 million tons of copper reserves, and Reko Diq has 13 million ounces of gold and 7.3 million tons of copper reserves. Overall, Barrick has replaced all the gold and copper mined during the year.

https://youtu.be/htj_C6-rBCw?si=7Op7xxiG4n--QLuf

CEO Bristow: *"Barrick is unique in the industry* in that no other company is able to replace the gold and copper we mine while also growing our reserves through exploration and development. Our integrated resource and exploration strategy has allowed us to establish a foundation that supports a 30% growth forecast in gold equivalent ounces by the end of the decade."

The expansion of the Pueblo Viejo mine in the Dominican Republic is also progressing. The goal is to establish a long-lasting and cost-effective gold mine with an annual production of more than 800,000 ounces. In the US state of Nevada, the Fourmile project has reached the pre-feasibility stage. The preliminary economic assessment of 2024 illustrates the world-class potential. For example, Fourmile has a much larger ore body that is almost twice the grade of the adjacent Goldrush project.

Barrick Gold's stock appears to have ended its consolidation and is marching towards the October 2024 high of around USD 21. If the gold price holds above USD 3,000, there is a strong case for the stock to break out.

TUI: Opportunity for a price jump?

Is there an exciting buying opportunity in TUI's stock? Because in the general market sell-off last week, an important piece of news for the tourism group seems to have been overlooked. The investor magazine "Börse Online" had speculated about it a few weeks ago and thought a 50% jump in the share price would be possible if the event had occurred. The experts cited a possible upgrade by the rating agencies as the trigger for the share price. And that is precisely what happened last week. S&P has raised TUI's credit rating from BB- to B+. The outlook is stable. S&P justified the decision with the positive operational development and increased cash flow for the tourism group.

The upgrade should attract investors who were previously not allowed to invest due to poor credit ratings. In addition, TUI will be able to finance itself at more favorable terms in the future and thus further increase its profits. However, there has been no significant price reaction so far. The TUI share is currently trading at around EUR 7 and thus significantly below the high of almost EUR 9 at the turn of the year.

Analysts have not (yet) reacted either. Opinions on the TUI share differ widely. UBS recently reduced its target price from EUR 8.28 to EUR 8.00 and confirmed its "Neutral" recommendation. Although the share is historically cheap, analysts are concerned about the margins. With the new credit rating, can the margin be increased?

Deutsche Bank is bullish. The analysts see the fair value of the TUI share at EUR 11 and recommend the share as a "Buy".

Benton Resources is building an exciting news flow. The stock should benefit from this in the coming weeks and could even become a takeover candidate in the course of the year. Barrick Gold seems to have the worst behind it, although risks remain, particularly as the major projects are mostly located in challenging countries like Pakistan. The credit rating upgrade at TUI has been ignored by the market so far.