AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) Short Interest Update

AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,550,000 shares, an increase of 8.0% from the December 31st total of 5,140,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,140,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 64,843 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,630,000 after buying an additional 656 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the second quarter worth about $520,000. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 18.2% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 17,961 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 2,768 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $126,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 30.6% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 119,500 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $3,182,000 after purchasing an additional 28,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the company’s stock.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock Performance

AngloGold Ashanti stock opened at $31.19 on Tuesday. AngloGold Ashanti has a 12 month low of $16.49 and a 12 month high of $32.57. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.73.

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.