In this piece, we will take a look at five mining stocks to buy today according to Kerr Neilson’s Platinum Asset Management. If you want to learn more about the hedge fund investor and his fund, and want to take a look at more stock picks from this list, then head over to 8 Mining Stocks to Buy Today According to Kerr Neilson’s Platinum Asset Management.
5. SilverCrest Metals Inc. (NYSE:SILV)
Platinum Asset Management’s Stake Value: $22 million
Percentage of Platinum Asset Management’s 13F Portfolio: 0.61%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 12
SilverCrest Metals Inc. (NYSE:SILV) is a precious metals miner that is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. The company is focused primarily on exploring and developing properties that can be used to mine gold and silver, which are two of the most valuable metals in the world. It has a mining site covering 1,401 hectares in Mexico.
For its fourth quarter of 2021 investment portfolio, Platinum Asset Management held a $22 million stake in SilverCrest Metals Inc. (NYSE:SILV). This came in the form of 2.8 million shares and it represented 0.68% of the firm’s overall investments. Insider Monkey scanned the portfolios of 924 hedge funds for Q4 2021 and determined that 12 out of these had also bought the company’s shares.
By the end of its fiscal fourth quarter, SilverCrest Metals Inc. (NYSE:SILV) had reported -$0.16 in GAAP EPS for its latest fiscal year. This beat analyst estimates by $0.03, and during the same time the company also reported $176 million in cash and cash equivalents for the full fiscal year. Desjardins set a CAD$15.25 price target for the company in February 2022, outlining that its Mexico mine is on schedule and will start to generate cash flow in the second half of this year.
Eric Sprott’s Sprott Asset Management is SilverCrest Metals Inc. (NYSE:SILV)’s largest investor. It owns 7.4 million shares for a $58 million stake.
4. Iris Energy Limited (NASDAQ:IREN)
Platinum Asset Management’s Stake Value: $43 million
Percentage of Platinum Asset Management’s 13F Portfolio: 1.22%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 11
While traditional mining companies focused on extracting valuable resources from the ground, new age miners have focused their attention on the digital sphere. They are focused on ‘mining’ cryptocurrencies, which involves extracting value from the internet by powering financial transactions. One such company is Iris Energy Limited (NASDAQ:IREN), which is responsible for mining bitcoin, the world’s most popular cryptocurrency through sustainable means.
Iris Energy Limited (NASDAQ:IREN) raked in a net profit of $71.7 million and revenue of $20 million during its fiscal Q2, missing analyst revenue estimates. The company commissioned a new site in Canada in April 2022, which brought its hash rate to exceed 3.3 EH/s.
Mr. Neilson’s hedge fund had a Q4 2021 stake of $43 million in Iris Energy Limited (NASDAQ:IREN). This came in the form of 2.7 million shares and it represented 1.22% of the firm’s investment portfolio. During the same time period, 11 of the 924 hedge funds poled by Insider Monkey had also invested in the company.
3. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)
Platinum Asset Management’s Stake Value: $53 million
Percentage of Platinum Asset Management’s 13F Portfolio: 1.49%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 66
Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) is an American metals miner headquartered in Arizona. The company is involved in the production of gold, copper, silver, and other metals.
Platinum Asset Management held a $53 million stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) during the fourth quarter of last year via owning 1.2 million shares. Insider Monkey’s Q4 2021 survey of 924 hedge funds outlined that 66 had owned the company’s shares.
Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) reported $6 billion in revenue and $0.96 in non-GAAP EPS for its fiscal Q4. This let it beat analyst EPS estimates only. Deutsche Bank raised the company’s price target to $50 from $42 in April 2022, sharing that an increase in copper prices will help the company.
Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)’s largest investor is Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management which owns 48 million shares worth $2 billion.
Horizon Kinetics LLC mentioned the company in its fourth quarter 2021 investor letter which outlined that:
Freeport-McMoRan will illustrate. It is the world’s third-largest copper producer, closely following Chile’s Codelco and Australia’s BHP Group. In 2014, even though Freeport sold more copper than the prior year, its revenues dropped by over 25%, and it went from $4.8 billion of operating earnings (a 22% margin) to a $(0.2) billion loss. The company’s capital expenditures peaked in 2014 at $3.86 billion and will be about $1.72 billion in 2021, meaning the company is spending 55% less now than it was seven years ago. In inflation-adjusted terms, it’s spending 61% less today than seven years ago…”
2. Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:GOLD)
Platinum Asset Management’s Stake Value: $135 million
Percentage of Platinum Asset Management’s 13F Portfolio: 3.77%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 46
Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:GOLD) is a gold mining company headquartered in Canada. The company has mining interests all over the globe from North and South America to Africa.
Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:GOLD)’s fiscal fourth quarter saw it bring in $3.3 billion in revenue and $0.35 GAAP EPS. These beat Wall Street estimates for both metrics. The company’s price target was raised to $24 from $3 by Jefferies in March 2022, as part of a broader analyst optimism about the mining market.
Mr. Neilson’s hedge fund owned 7 million Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:GOLD) shares during the fourth quarter of last year. This gave it a $135 million stake which represented 3.77% of its portfolio. During the same time period, 46 of the 924 hedge funds part of Insider Monkey’s survey had also invested in the company.
Jean-Marie Eveillard’s First Eagle Investment Management is Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:GOLD)’s largest investor, holding a $510 million stake via 26 million shares.
ClearBridge Investments mentioned the company in its fourth quarter 2021 investor letter. Here is what the firm said:
“Also within the structural bucket, we have selectively added to our commodity exposure with the purchase of Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD). Canadian mining company Barrick Gold is a play on operating improvements. The company has aggressively delevered its balance sheet and reduced capex spending to a lower level more permanently, directing its healthy free cash flow to dividends and buybacks.”
1. The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS)
Platinum Asset Management’s Stake Value: $150 million
Percentage of Platinum Asset Management’s 13F Portfolio: 4.18%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 46
The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) is an agricultural miner headquartered in Florida, United States. The company mines phosphate variants such as ammoniated phosphate, monoammonium phosphate, and diammonium phosphate. These are used in the agriculture industry.
Platinum Asset Management’s stake in The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) was worth $150 million as the fourth quarter of last year came to an end. It came in the form of 3.8 million shares and represented 4.18% of the firm’s investment portfolio. Insider Monkey’s Q4 2021 survey of 924 hedge funds revealed that 46 had bought the company’s shares.
For its fiscal Q4, The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) had managed to rake in $3.8 billion in revenue and $1.95 in non-GAAP EPS, for a weak set of results that saw it miss analyst estimates for both. Citi raised its price target to $74 from $49 in March 2022, outlining that fertilizer prices are trending upwards in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Eric W. Mandelblatt’s Soroban Capital Partners is The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS)’s largest investor through a $172 million stake that comes via 4.3 million shares.
Ariel Investments mentioned the company in its Q4 2021 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:
“We continue to believe recent aggressive fiscal and monetary policy will drive high levels of intransient (rather than transitory) inflation. Recent inflation numbers have exceeded our hawkish predictions. While we believed the Consumer Price Index might rise +4% in 2021, double the Fed target of +2%; it rose +7%, the highest level in forty years. Ariel Focus Fund has been well positioned for this environment as natural resource and material companies such as The Mosaic Company (MOS) which returned +72.15% for the year. This was one of our two largest holdings at year-end and have performed well very early into 2022.”
Disclosure: None. You can also take a peek at 12 Best Environmental Stocks to Invest In and 10 Best Nickel Stocks to Buy Now.
