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Buenaventura (NYSE:BVN) is little changed in Tuesday's trading as Morgan Stanley downgrades the stock to Equal Weight from Overweight with a $16.30 price target, saying the Peruvian precious metals explorer has made progress on improving its operations and continues to advance on its growth projects, but the positive outlook likely is priced in.
The company is progressing well on its flagship San Gabriel gold project and has the potential to further increase its copper exposure with el Trapiche, and it has posted two consecutive quarters of solid operating results, Morgan Stanley analyst Carlos De Alba says.
The recent purchase of 18.9% of Buenaventura (BVN) shares by Antofagasta highlights the value of the company's growth prospects, its operational improvements and its stake in Cerro Verde.
But Buenaventura (BVN) has more than doubled in the last six months, and Morgan Stanley says the current share price more properly reflects the company's operational improvements and growth outlook.