AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 3,372,901 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 64% from the previous session’s volume of 2,050,898 shares.The stock last traded at $24.62 and had previously closed at $24.54.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AU has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Investec raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Scotiabank upgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $30.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.67.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Up 2.7 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $27.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Institutional Trading of AngloGold Ashanti

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AU. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 0.4% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 22,920,684 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $610,378,000 after acquiring an additional 80,563 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,808,722 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $373,154,000 after buying an additional 65,025 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 39.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,448,445 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $277,968,000 after buying an additional 2,957,304 shares in the last quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD lifted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 51.3% in the 3rd quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD now owns 2,836,110 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $75,525,000 after acquiring an additional 962,141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 159.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,251,492 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $33,327,000 after acquiring an additional 768,363 shares in the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AngloGold Ashanti

AngloGold Ashanti plc operates as a gold mining company in Africa, Australia, and the Americas. The company primarily explores for gold, as well as produces silver and sulphuric acid as by-products. Its flagship property is a 100% owned Geita mine located in the Lake Victoria goldfields of the Mwanza region in north-western Tanzania.