OPPORTUNITIES in the Tariff Crash: TUI Facing a 50% Price Surge? Valneva Stock Strong! Multiplier with Desert Gold?

Desert Gold: CAD 10 per ounce of gold, much too cheap!

It is official! Last week, the gold price surpassed USD 2,800 per ounce. Experts are already expecting the USD 3,000 mark to be reached soon. One of the most exciting gold explorers for 2025 is likely Desert Gold. Since April 2024, the stock has been trending sideways between CAD 0.08 and CAD 0.06. At the current CAD 0.065, the market capitalization is below CAD 15 million. On its 440 km2 SMSZ project in West Africa, the Canadians have already identified 1.1 million ounces of gold near surface and plan to begin mining in a low-cost open-pit mine in the second half of 2025. As a result, Desert Gold's gold resource is currently valued at just over CAD 10 per ounce.

Far too little, says GBC Research. The analysts of the German research firm see a fair value of CAD 0.425 for the shares of Desert Gold. Their valuation is based on a gold price of only USD 2,300.

In addition to starting production, Desert Gold also plans to significantly increase the resource this year. The Company has its sights set on the 2 million ounce mark. On the way to achieving this goal, there has already been positive news in the new year. Yesterday, Desert Gold published positive data. The Canadians were able to secure historical prospecting and exploration results from the Australian company Golden Rim Resources near their Mogoyafara South and Linnguekoto West gold deposits. The newly discovered historical drilling data for 78 drill holes is promising. The inferred gold resource at these two zones is 479,000 ounces of gold with a grade of 1.09 g/t gold. Noteworthy was a drill hole with 3.4 grams per tonne over 12 meters at Linnguekoto West. This opens up a new exploration corridor and the potential to significantly upgrade this target area.

Desert Gold CEO Jared Scharf comments: "The latest drilling and trench data improve our understanding of the Mogoyafara South deposit. Overall, these new data continue to confirm our belief that the SMSZ project has significant exploration potential that has yet to be discovered."

With a resource of over 2 million ounces, Desert Gold would become a hot takeover candidate. Gold companies like B2Gold, Barrick Gold, and Endeavour Mining are active in the neighborhood.

Valneva: Upwards by 20% and beyond?

Last week, Valneva's shares experienced a sharp price increase, which is likely to follow the same trajectory as Desert Gold's shares. Within a week, Valneva's shares rose by around 20%. This seems to have broken the downward trend.

The reason for the price explosion: The US Department of Defense has signed a minimum purchase agreement for USD 32.8 million for the Japanese Encephalitis vaccine IXIARO. Delivery is to take place within a year and could be increased. IXIARO is the only vaccine against Japanese encephalitis approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. Japanese encephalitis is an inflammation of the brain and meninges. Valneva CEO Dipal Patel commented: "For over ten years, the US military has relied on IXIARO to protect military personnel, their families, civilian government employees, and government contractors from this potentially deadly disease."

TUI: 50% upside in the short term?

The investment magazine Börse Online considers a 50% jump in the TUI share price possible. The experts cite a potential upgrade from the rating agencies as a key price trigger. Such an upgrade could be imminent, as TUI was upgraded by the big players in the rating game, S&P and Moody's, in February 2024. Such a rating is typically issued annually and would, therefore, have to be issued soon. There are several arguments in favor of a further upgrade. Last year, for example, the tourism group further reduced its debt and delivered a convincing performance in terms of revenue and profit.

An upgrade would attract more investors, who are currently not allowed to invest due to the poor credit rating. In addition, TUI could finance itself more cheaply and thus further increase its profits. The speculation sounds entirely plausible.

Desert Gold could be one of the best gold stocks of 2025. The Company is on the verge of starting production, is expanding its resource, and benefiting from positive analyst comments and takeover speculation. TUI could indeed see a significant jump in its share price if its rating is upgraded. It is speculative, but it sounds plausible. The new order is great for Valneva but should not be overestimated.