Which stock to buy now? Evotec, Nel, and Lahontan Gold in focus

Lahontan Gold: Correction Offers Buying Opportunity

Following the sharp correction in recent days, this gold explorer is an attractive buy. Lahontan Gold is active in a hotspot for the precious metal in the US. The company plans to update its historical resource of just under 2 million ounces in the coming weeks and expects a significant increase. At the same time, the market capitalization stands at only CAD 120 million. This could change quickly with a resource increase.

Lahontan Gold is rapidly advancing the development of its flagship Santa Fe project. It has brought an additional mobile reverse-circulation drill rig to the project in Nevada's resource-rich Walker Lane region. The new rig complements the ongoing diamond drilling program and is primarily intended to explore areas that have been little or not at all systematically explored to date. For Lahontan, this is an important step toward further expanding the project's potential and broadening the foundation for the planned resumption of gold and silver production.

Santa Fe is Lahontan's flagship project. All four of the Canadian company's gold and silver projects are located in the US state of Nevada. Santa Fe not only has a historical production record of more than 359,000 ounces of gold and approximately 702,000 ounces of silver, but also a previously reported, NI 43-101-compliant resource totaling just under 2 million ounces of gold equivalent in the "indicated" and "inferred" categories. Among the most important active gold producers in the Walker Lane area are primarily Kinross with Round Mountain and Fortitude Gold with several producing mines.

Most recently, Lahontan founder and CEO Kimberly Ann noted in an interview that flat, thick oxide gold and silver zones have been identified at the Santa Fe project. The final construction permit for the first mine is expected by the end of 2026 or, at the latest, in the first quarter of 2027.

CEO Kimberly Ann talks with IIF host Lyndsay Malchuk:

https://youtu.be/pRq4WtH82Rc?si=4VEEF_4CVRncayiQ

Evotec: Milestone Payment Falls Flat

For Evotec shareholders, the year so far has been a disappointment. Neither the 2025 figures nor the biotech company's outlook were able to give the stock any momentum. As of yesterday, the decline in 2026 stood at around 20%.

Did yesterday mark the start of a turnaround? Evotec announced that it has received a milestone payment of USD 10 million from partner Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS). The reason is that the collaboration partner has initiated a Phase 1 study to evaluate the CELMoD compound BMS-986506. The Cereblon-E3-ligase modulator is to be investigated for the treatment of clear cell renal cell carcinoma. This is one of the most common forms of kidney cancer.

With the start of the first-in-human study, the collaboration has reached an important milestone. For the first time, a jointly developed "Molecular Glue" approach is being tested in humans. This is based on Evotec's platforms for multi-omics screening, AI-driven data analysis, and drug design. The goal is to specifically degrade disease-relevant proteins in cancer cells. According to Evotec, this is expected to gradually lead to a broader portfolio of additional candidates - not only for oncology but also, in the future, for other difficult-to-treat diseases.

Even this news failed to provide any momentum for Evotec shares yesterday. In early trading, the stock actually lost over 3.5% in value.

Nel: Stock Surges, but Caution is Advised!

What is going on with Nel? Since early March, the shares of the fallen hydrogen star have climbed by over 12% and are now trading at EUR 0.21 or NOK 2.236. This marks a break from the downward trend that had pushed the stock from NOK 2.75 to below NOK 2 since November. However, it is still a long way from the 52-week high of NOK 3, not to mention the 2024 high of around NOK 8.

The price jump can hardly be attributed to developments in 2025 or the outlook. The Norwegian hydrogen specialist failed to impress on both counts. For 2025, the company reported a 31% decline in revenue to NOK 963 million. EBITDA fell from NOK -173 million to NOK -275 million. Significant impairment charges in the PEM and Alkaline segments led to a net loss of NOK 1.27 billion. In the previous year, the figure was "only" NOK -242 million. At least liquidity remained stable at NOK 1.6 billion. Order intake rose slightly from NOK 977 million to NOK 1.1 billion. The order backlog at the end of December 2025 stood at NOK 1.3 billion. At the end of 2023, it was still NOK 2.1 billion. This reflects the declining demand in the hydrogen sector.

A specific forecast for 2026 has not been published. Nel remains cautious. The absence or cancellation of subsidies, high interest rates, and rising costs are making the environment challenging. Nel is counting on several high-value projects gradually approaching investment decisions and on the company being able to return to profitable growth, initially through smaller projects and in niches such as local hydrogen production and defense.

Berenberg also remains skeptical. For the analysts, Nel shares are only a "Hold". The price target was slightly reduced from NOK 2.60 to NOK 2.30. The experts point out that a major order in November has led to the proton exchange membrane business unit now accounting for over half of the order backlog. This should be viewed as a risk, as Nel has frequently experienced delays or cancellations of major orders in the past.

The correction presents an attractive buying opportunity in Lahontan Gold. Management has recently made very positive comments. Getting in before the drill results are released could be worthwhile. In contrast, Nel continues to struggle with sluggish demand. It needs new major projects. At Evotec, the negative price reaction despite positive news is a concerning signal.