Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, First Majestic Silver Corp. (AG) acquires, explores for, develops, and produces mineral properties, focusing on silver and gold production in North America. AG shares have declined 47.2% in price over the past year and 40.1% over the past six months to close yesterday’s trading session at $8.35. The stock has slumped 24.8% year-to-date. Furthermore, BMO Capital analyst Ryan Thompson lowered his price target on the stock while maintaining his Market Perform rating. The analyst also reduced his EPS expectation for the first quarter of this year.
The company produced 7.2 million silver equivalent ounces, consisting of 2.6 million ounces of silver and 58,892 ounces of gold, in the first quarter. Its total production increased 59% year-over-year, due primarily to the acquisition of Jerritt Canyon, but decreased by 16% sequentially due to high absenteeism related to an increase in COVID-19 cases in January and February, which resulted in lower processed tonnes across all Mexican operating units. Also, Thompson stated that AG’s consolidated gold and silver production for the quarter missed estimates by 14% and 19%, respectively.
