AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $23.90, but opened at $23.34. AngloGold Ashanti shares last traded at $23.24, with a volume of 299,419 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AU. Scotiabank raised AngloGold Ashanti from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Investec raised AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.75.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market cap of $9.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.40 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.11.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AU. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $126,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 72.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,991 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $151,000 after buying an additional 2,520 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the 3rd quarter valued at $222,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the 2nd quarter worth $227,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC increased its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 12,279 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 682 shares during the last quarter. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AngloGold Ashanti Company Profile

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.