Street View: Barrick eyes value unlock via North American gold IPO

U.S.-listed shares of Canadian miner Barrick Mining ABX.TO, B.N up 1.73% at $44.73 premarket

Co said on Thursday it will move forward with preparations for an initial public offering (IPO) of its North American gold assets

Barrick also posted adjusted profit of $1.04 per share for the fourth-quarter, compared with analysts' average estimate of 90 cents - data compiled by LSEG

IPO IN FOCUS

TD Cowen ("buy", PT: $61) says it views the IPO as "a first step in creating more focused businesses and closing the significant valuation gap"

Adds that the earnings sets the stage for catalyst-rich year with Barrick closing the valuation gap, driven by the continued growth and strategy importance of the Fourmile project

RBC Capital Markets ("outperform", PT: $53) says the new entity could reasonably trade towards the upper end of sector valuation, given its premier jurisdiction exposure and asset quality

Raymond James ("Outperform") lowers PT to $55 from $58

Says Randgold merger added assets but raised African risk, while the Newmont JV enhanced Nevada synergies

However, adds that miner has controlling interest in numerous high-quality gold mines and copper assets that allows it to generate strong cash flow