Gold is not the only shiny play. Check out Eastern Platinum Ltd.
The Stock: Eastern Platinum Ltd. (ELR-T) Recent price : $1.38
The Trend
Although the metal mining sector was the big mover on the TSX last week,
junior precious metal stocks were hot items, many surging amid high
volume of trading as gold bullion continued its third-quarter advance.
Breakout stocks in the group included CGA Mining Ltd. and Gabriel
Resources, which rallied on news that the Romanian government is
pressing ahead with its environmental review of the company's
long-stalled project in Transylvania - a gold mine that would be
Europe's largest. Plays like these tend to get the market's speculative
juices percolating.
More generally, though, small-cap gold stocks are helping revive the
Toronto market. The BMO Junior Gold Index exchange-traded fund, trading
on the TSX since the beginning of this year, is outperforming the
S&P/TSX Composite index by 14 per cent in the past three months and has
hit new highs for the past five weeks. The S&P/TSX Venture composite
index's performance in recent weeks also reflects the small-cap mining
strength. It is up 11 per cent already this month.
Investors interested in trading lively junior precious metals stocks
don't have to be focused on gold, or silver for that matter. Platinum is
an oft-overlooked segment of the category among the broader investing
public. However, the metal's important industrial applications -
specifically in the automotive industry as an agent for catalytic
converters - along with its known appeal in jewellery make miners of
this mineral plenty precious.
Like gold bullion, platinum prices are picking up. The E-TRACS UBS Long
Platinum ETN and ETFS Physical Platinum Shares advanced 5 per cent last
week. While gold and silver prices are tapping new nominal highs, some
analysts have pegged platinum for bigger price gains ahead if global
economic metrics trend positively. Although platinum does not have the
monetary cachet of gold, investors should stay tuned to the metal and
its miners.
The Trade
Among the rallying small-cap platinum stocks is Eastern Platinum, a
Vancouver-based producer of platinum group metals with significant
assets in South African mines. It has surged over 30 per cent in
September and traded heavily last week. Although trend analysis of
volatile penny stocks can be a fool's game, retail investors should
evaluate chart patterns of these breakout situations. The stock's
aggressive move to $1.50 last week sent it up against resistance that
chopped back shares in its January rally. Shares slipped on Friday to
close lower, but traders will be looking for the stock to move through
$1.50 quickly if it is to challenge the spring high. Speculative
investors can use this cue as an entry signal.
The Upside
The price of platinum is well off its March, 2008, peak - it would have
to add another 30 per cent to reach the $2,200 (U.S.) an ounce mark it
hit then - but the metal's recent eclipse of $1,600 takes it above a
trading range ceiling. A fuelling of precious metals buying amid growing
monetary concerns should help the mineral rally further this quarter and
drive Eastern Platinum shares through the next resistance level at $1.70
(Canadian). A 70-per-cent gain to the $2.35 level would be the hopeful
objective for shareholders long this platinum play.
The Downside
Assumed in this trade is a risk of volatility, and a substantial loss.
An exit stands at the base of the current rally, the intermediate-term
average share price of $1.08 - 20-per-cent below the current price.
There is a lot to be gained from comparing trends of how individual stocks are doing within a sector, as well as how the sector is performing relative to the broad market.
