Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 2,815,780 Shares of Novagold Resources Inc. $NG

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Novagold Resources Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN:NG) (TSE:NG) by 23.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,587,516 shares of the mining company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,815,780 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 3.58% of Novagold Resources worth $128,840,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NG. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Novagold Resources in the third quarter worth $40,000. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Novagold Resources in the second quarter worth about $41,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Novagold Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novagold Resources during the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Novagold Resources by 20.3% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,688 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 2,137 shares during the last quarter. 57.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Novagold Resources Stock Down 10.4%

Shares of NYSEAMERICAN NG opened at $12.72 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.14. Novagold Resources Inc. has a 52-week low of $2.26 and a 52-week high of $14.40. The firm has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -50.88 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 23.79, a current ratio of 23.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NG has been the subject of several recent research reports. B. Riley Financial boosted their target price on shares of Novagold Resources from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Novagold Resources in a research note on Friday, February 6th. They set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Novagold Resources in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Zacks Research cut Novagold Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.83.

Insider Activity at Novagold Resources

In other news, Director Dawn Patricia Whittaker acquired 4,000 shares of Novagold Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $9.36 per share, with a total value of $37,440.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 4,000 shares in the company, valued at $37,440. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.39% of the company’s stock.

Novagold Resources Company Profile

Novagold Resources Inc is a mineral exploration and development company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. The firm is focused on advancing large-scale precious metals projects through disciplined project management, environmental stewardship and community engagement. Novagold maintains a lean corporate structure while leveraging partnerships and industry expertise to advance its projects toward production.

The company’s flagship asset is the Donlin Gold project in Alaska, a 50/50 joint venture with Barrick Gold Corporation.