The S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) index is trading in the red again on Tuesday afternoon. At the time of writing the index is trading 0.074% lower at 8,829.4 points.
Over the year the index has jumped 6.81% higher. It's a robust increase, but one which has been far outpaced by some of the index's strongest performers.
Pantoro Gold Ltd (ASX: PNR) shares have rocketed 201.18% over the past 12 months to its current trading price of $5.12 a piece, at the time of writing.
The rapid increase places the small-cap gold producer and explorer as the second-best annual performer on the ASX 200 index, at the time of writing. The company's share surge is second-place only to Droneshield Ltd (ASX: DRO) shares which have climbed 305.29% over the same period.
In mid-October, Pantoro Gold reported promising drill results at its fully-owned Norseman Gold Project in Western Australia. The ASX 200 stock said it successfully intersected all targeted lodes and identified high-grade mineralisation outside historically mined lodes, including 0.68 metres at 137.19 grams of gold per tonne.
Meanwhile, the Aussie gold miner is also riding the wave of booming gold prices. Gold prices surged to an all-time high in mid-October, and while they've slipped from their peak, prices are still around 51% higher than in early 2025.
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How much higher can the ASX 200 stock climb?
Analysts are mostly positive about the outlook for Pantoro Gold shares going forward. TradingView data shows that half of analysts (4 out of 8) have a strong buy rating on the shares. A further 3 have a hold rating and one analyst has a sell rating on the stock.
The maximum potential upside is as high as $7.30 per share, which represents a robust potential 42.44% upside for investors over the next 12 months, at the time of writing. The average target price is $6.09, which still represents a potential 18.74% upside from current trading levels.
Tim McCormack from Canaccord Genuity is one of the more bullish analysts. He has a buy rating and $7.30 target price on Pantoro Gold shares.
The team at Morgans are more bearish on the stock. The analyst thinks the bull run has ended for the gold stock and recently trimmed its price target to $5.02, down from $5.92. That implies a potential 15.6% increase at the time of writing.
