ASX gold stocks have enjoyed an enormous rally this year after the price of the precious metal soared to an all-time high late last month.
The rally, driven by a flood of investors fleeing to safe-haven assets amid concerns about global volatility, has been great news for gold miners and producers. In fact, a few have seen their share prices jump 100% or more over the past 12 months alone.
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The surging ASX gold stocks
West African Resources Ltd (ASX: WAF) shares have soared 107.76% over the past year, to $3.62 a piece at the time of writing on Tuesday afternoon. The share price spiked to an all-time high in late January. And while the shares have since dropped 7.45%, they're still 17.75% higher for the year to date.
West African Resources shares have rallied particularly strongly this year, boosted by the gold price and promising exportation results.
It's a very similar story for Vault Minerals Ltd (ASX: VAU). While its shares have also surged higher over the past 12 months (up 108.17% at the time of writing), they're still 0.09% lower for the year-to-date.
Again, the miner's shares have been boosted by the rallying gold price and by its strong gold production results posted last month.
Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX: PRU) shares have also climbed 102.16% over the past 12 months. At the time of writing, the shares are trading at $5.62 each, a 0.35% year-to-date decline.
The miner also posted solid gold production and growing cash last month.
Can these ASX gold stocks keep climbing higher?
The price of gold has already hit record‑like levels this year and is expected to remain strong through 2026. Some think the price of gold could go even higher this year if demand for safe-haven assets surges further or volatility risk heightens.
If gold prices stay strong, then ASX gold stocks like West African Resources, Vault Minerals, and Perseus Mining could continue to outperform this year.
The risk is that these companies are very reliant on gold prices, which means share price growth could be choppy throughout the year.
Analysts currently have a strong buy rating on West African Resources shares and think the stock could surge another 77.53% this year to $6.40 a piece, at the time of writing.
Forecasts on Perseus Mining shares also imply a huge upside ahead. Most analysts (five out of nine) have a strong buy rating on the stock. The maximum target price is $8.36, which implies a potential 48.95% upside at the time of writing.
It's the same story for Vault Minerals shares, too. Most analysts (eight out of 11) have a buy or strong buy rating on the shares. The maximum target price is $8.70, which implies a potential 59.19% upside for investors at the time of writing.
