Last week, it felt like all ASX gold stocks were hammered. So much for safe-haven assets!
Gold stocks enjoyed a bull run through 2025, and this continued into the beginning of this year.
Since the recent conflict began between Iran, Israel and the United States, many experts tipped gold shares to continue their climb.
However last week, many ASX gold stocks were heavily sold off.
It's a stark reminder that investing isn't as straightforward as we would like.
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A quick recap
Among many others, some notable falls last week for some well-known gold stocks included:
- Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) fell more than 24% last week
- Ora Banda Mining Ltd (ASX: OBM) fell almost 11%
- Bellevue Gold Ltd (ASX: BGL) lost 11.5%
- Newmont Corp (ASX: NEM) fell 8.5%
- Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) fell 5.5%
Why are gold stocks falling?
As Bernd Struben reported last week, many gold stocks are now coming under pressure from a sizable retreat in global gold prices.
Gold dropped from about US$5,322 per ounce on 2 March and was hovering around $4,600 per ounce on Friday.
This is a fall of more than 13%.
Simultaneously, oil prices have surged.
This shift has pushed investors from gold into energy stocks. At the same time RBA cash rate hikes have also created headwinds for gold stocks, which usually performs better in a low rate environment.
Is there any value?
After such a heavy sell-off last week, investors may be considering buying the dip on some of these gold stocks.
Amongst those listed above, recent analysis does suggest some offer long-term value.
It is worth noting that if current conditions persist, there could be further drops in the near-term.
Firstly, Bell Potter maintains a buy rating on Northern Star Resources shares and a price target of $30.00.
It's worth noting this target has declined recently from $35.00.
Despite this, from last week's closing price of $18.50 for Northern Star Resources, the updated target indicates an upside potential of roughly 62%.
Another stock that may have fallen to a value is Ora Banda Mining. UBS recently placed a $1.60 price target on the gold stock.
From last week's closing price of $1.18, this indicates an upside potential of more than 35%.
The broker believes this gold miner has a pathway to producing 200,000 ounces of gold per year by FY29 while maintaining strong free cash flow yields.
