Analysts Reset Gold Miners After Historic Metal Selloff

Record Precious Metals Slump Roils Mining Equities

Gold and silver markets endured a historic collapse on Jan. 30, triggering heavy selling across gold‑mining stocks. Spot gold plunged more than 12% intraday to as low as $4,682 an ounce before closing down 9.25% at $4,880, its biggest single‑day decline since the early 1980s. Silver fell even more sharply, dropping 36% at one point to $74.28 and finishing the session 26.42% lower at $85.259, a move described as its worst day since March 1980. The selloff wiped out more than $15 trillion from gold and silver markets in 24 hours, according to Bloomberg.

The move came after a powerful multi‑week rally in precious metals and was widely linked to President Donald Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh as Federal Reserve chair, which boosted the U.S. dollar and led to aggressive profit‑taking across commodities. Analysts cited forced selling and margin calls as leveraged positions in silver and gold unwound, with technical factors such as options‑related "gamma" selling accelerating declines as prices broke through key levels. Despite the violent correction, both metals remained higher for January overall, with gold up 12% and silver up 16% for the month.

Technical analysts flagged the extreme nature of the move. Gold’s relative‑strength index had recently touched 90, a level Bloomberg described as the highest in decades and consistent with severely overbought conditions. Separately, MarketWatch highlighted “bearish engulfing” patterns in a major gold‑miner ETF and in Newmont, viewing these as potential reversal signals and cautioning against buying the dip in gold‑mining equities until momentum stabilises.

B2Gold and Sector Peers Hit as Traders Reprice Risk

B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG) was among the miners caught in the downdraft. Its U.S.‑listed shares fell 11.7% on Jan. 30, closing at $4.90 after trading between $5.25 and $4.81 on volume of about 87.1 million shares. The decline followed a roughly 23% rise in the stock over the prior month, leaving investors to reassess earnings sensitivity to the new metal price backdrop ahead of key guidance.

B2Gold has scheduled release of its fourth‑quarter and full‑year 2025 results, along with 2026 guidance, after North American markets close on Feb. 18, with a conference call set for Feb. 19. The company operates mines in Canada, Mali, Namibia and the Philippines, and its results are typically leveraged to gold price trends through margins and free cash flow. Index providers noted that the broader VanEck Gold Miners ETF fell 12.7% on the day, while major peers such as Newmont and Kinross Gold lost 11.5% and 13.9% respectively, underscoring that the selloff was sector‑wide.

Looking ahead, analysts and investors highlighted that miners’ profitability can adjust quickly to changes in realised selling prices and operating costs. With bullion’s short‑term direction uncertain, market attention is shifting to how management teams frame production plans, cost guidance, and balance sheet priorities for 2026, and whether they adjust project pipelines or capital returns to reflect the new price environment.

Street Raises Targets on Select Gold Names Despite Volatility

Even as prices and equities swung, several Wall Street firms updated their views on individual gold producers. On Jan. 19, Bank of America raised its price target on Barrick Mining Corporation (NYSE:B) to $58 from $50 with a Buy rating as part of a broader upward revision for North American precious metals. The bank said macroeconomic factors driving gold prices had intensified and expected Barrick to deliver strong capital returns in the fourth quarter.

JPMorgan followed on Jan. 29 by initiating Barrick with an Overweight rating and a $68 target, describing the company’s reserve base as “world‑class” and pointing to strong near‑term organic growth potential. The firm also argued that Barrick’s shares were trading at a significantly larger discount to global peers than historical norms, presenting what it viewed as a valuation opportunity if the company uses its scale effectively in a supportive precious‑metals environment.

Elsewhere in the sector, H.C. Wainwright raised its target on Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. (NYSE:ASM) to $12.50 from $7.40 on Jan. 23, maintaining a Buy rating. The move followed Avino’s 2025 production update and drill results from its La Preciosa project, where high‑grade silver and gold intercepts exceeded resource estimates and prompted the company to reconsider underground mining techniques at the La Gloria vein to improve tonnage and costs. Bank of America also raised its target for Aura Minerals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUGO) to $70 from $55.50 on Jan. 19, citing stronger macro drivers for gold and expecting solid capital returns in the fourth quarter after the company reported record quarterly production.

Traders Turn Defensive as Sector Sentiment Shifts

The abrupt turn in precious metals and mining stocks has left short‑term traders more defensive. MarketWatch’s observation of “bearish engulfing” formations in gold‑linked charts reflects growing caution that the sector’s outperformance versus bullion itself could reverse if the underlying metal’s rally has reached a speculative peak. Options data also show a shift in positioning around related equities: for example, TheFly reported unusually strong bullish call activity in Novavax and volatility spikes in Innodata tied to AI contracts, illustrating how risk appetite may be rotating toward other themes even as metals cool.

At the same time, broader commodity commentary from Bank of America and others stressed that the longer‑term case for gold remains tied to central‑bank demand and policy uncertainty, even if near‑term positioning normalises after such extreme moves. For miners, that translates into a more nuanced picture: while sharp price corrections can strain margins and investor sentiment in the short run, producers with lower‑cost assets, conservative balance sheets and visible capital‑return plans are still being differentiated by analysts through higher price targets and constructive ratings.