Long-term investment opportunities are evident in 2024 in the commodities sector, including the precious metals sector, where the price of gold has hit record highs several times this year and has a high probability of rising further. Uranium stocks have been rising since 2018, and the recent price pullback has created a great buying opportunity, along with the natural gas and oil sectors.
For investors fear of missing out on the commodities bull market, now could be a great time to invest in related mining stocks, which typically lag behind the metals but often outperform the metals themselves in bull markets, and the following three stocks are good examples and worth holding for the long term.
Barrick Gold Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD), one of the world’s leading gold miners, boasts a greater margin of safety than junior miner stocks. Sure, junior miners tend to deliver a bigger return on investment in bull markets, but the price volatility is so high, which means it’s not the best choice for long-term investing. Barrick Gold’s second-quarter production numbers show that the company is on track to meet its full-year production guidance for gold and copper.
Barrick shares have been fluctuating between $16 and $19 this summer. After a bullish second quarter, the entire precious metals sector has been consolidating. The good news is that gold miners like Barrick have outperformed the precious metals price itself, especially over the past month. With both gold fundamentals and technicals supporting continued price gains, now is still a good time to consider investing in this gold stock.
Pan American Silver (NYSE:PAAS) is one of the largest silver producers in the world. Silver often outperforms gold during bull markets. Even in the early stages of the current bull market, silver’s performance has been stunning. The company is based in Canada and has silver projects in Mexico, Peru, Bolivia and Argentina. But unlike gold stocks like Barrick, this silver stock has underperformed so far in 2024.
In fact, Pan American Silver’s stock price was at a bottom from mid-2022 through early 2024. However, in less than three months since then, the price of this silver stock has risen from $12.41 in February to more than $20. This price action is in line with the metal itself, as well as other metal miners. Investors have reason to believe that the long-term outlook for this silver mining stock remains strong as silver prices continue to rebound.
Shares of uranium producer Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) have adjusted downward by about 12% in the last month, after having been in a near-constant uptrend prior to that, with shares more than doubling (by more than 135%) over the last two years on the back of renewed interest in nuclear energy projects around the world.
Uranium prices are likely to continue to rise as demand for clean energy increases, and the nuclear power boom is likely to continue for many years, which Cameco, as one of the few publicly traded uranium companies, is sure to benefit from.
Investors have reason to believe that Cameco will continue to do its best to expand its production capacity to meet the growing demand for nuclear reactor fuel. In addition, management is likely to explore cost-cutting initiatives to further improve operating economics. It should be noted that Cameco’s current price-to-earnings ratio of 46 times means that the stock is not cheap, but if the recent correction continues, investors could wait for buying opportunities.
