AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) Short Interest Update

AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,930,000 shares, a growth of 43.2% from the October 15th total of 8,330,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,210,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.4 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AU shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on AngloGold Ashanti from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Investec upgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued a “sector underperform” rating and set a $30.00 price target (up from $27.00) on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 327,108 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $8,711,000 after purchasing an additional 8,676 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti in the third quarter valued at about $1,606,000. State Street Corp increased its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 546.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 211,826 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $5,641,000 after acquiring an additional 179,045 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 26,080 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $695,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Petrus Trust Company LTA bought a new stake in AngloGold Ashanti in the 3rd quarter valued at about $683,000. 36.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AngloGold Ashanti Trading Down 0.7 %

AU stock traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $23.83. 1,484,997 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,474,569. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $27.60 and its 200-day moving average is $26.93. AngloGold Ashanti has a 12 month low of $15.80 and a 12 month high of $32.57.

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.