1 Stock That’s Quietly Doing Everything Right

Looking back, 2025 was a bombastic year for gold, and, by extension, gold miners. The first half of 2026, as we’ve seen, less so.

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That doesn’t mean the bullish thesis for gold miners is over, however. If prices remain elevated, we’re going to see wide margins, lots of free cash flow, and, through that, disciplined operators that can return capital through buybacks, pay dividends, clean up balance sheets, and gear up for further growth. It’s also good to remember that central bank buying hasn’t dried up.

The only problem is that it can be a bit difficult to identify those high-quality businesses: the ones you can count on to execute both well and wisely.

Well, I believe that one stock in particular — the one I'm sharing in this article— is one of those. There are a couple of reasons why, but the most important factor is the fundamentals.

Our in-house system rates 4,600 stocks on a daily basis through the lens of 115 fundamental factors. The stocks that rank in the top 5% are given a Zen Rating of A, and stocks of that caliber have provided an average annual return of 28.5% per year.

This stock clears that bar — right now, it’s in the top 2% of everything we track for overall fundamentals.

Ready to discover the ticker? Here it is… 

SSR Mining (NASDAQ: SSRM)

And that fundamental profile is quite balanced — the strength here isn’t concentrated in just a few areas.

The Sentiment rating, our smart money indicator, clocks in at the top 23%. The panel of Wall Street analysts who track the stock lines up with this. The average 12-month price forecast currently sits at about $42, which would imply an upside of 38%. The Street-high forecast of $48 implies an upside of more than 55%, and even the lowest estimate on the Street corresponds to a 27% upside.

Next up, we have the Safety rating, which tracks volatility over time, the consistency of revenue inflows, and the predictability of a company’s earnings. SSR Mining is in the top 23% there, which is exactly what you want to see if you’re in the position we’re in: looking for those miners that are going to do the right thing with 2025’s windfall.

When it comes to both Momentum and Financials, SSRM is in the top 28%. Despite the situation with gold prices, the stock is still up 42% on the year-to-date (YTD) chart. As for the balance sheet, margins have increased from 7.8% to 12.2% in the past year, and the debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42 is another point in the stock’s favor on that front.

Now we come to the big fish — Growth and Value. Top 17% for the former, top 8% for the latter. 

Earnings are forecast to grow by 63.3% per year, almost three times the pace of the industry. 

And the valuation relative to growth prospects is more than appealing. The price-to-earnings growth (PEG) ratio stands at 0.43x, indicating that SSRM is significantly undervalued.

That covers the fundamental case, but I also wanna touch on some recent developments that make SSRM interesting. Back in June, management announced a $500 million share buyback, which puts a soft floor under the stock, and they reinstated a dividend.

There are also some operational maneuvers that seem quite prudent. The business is shifting toward a cleaner, Americas-focused gold and silver producer. The sale of their Çöpler mine in Türkiye netted the business roughly $1.5 billion, which covers both the buyback and leaves them in a much stronger cash position. 

In addition, SSR sold its 20% ownership stake in the Hod Maden project, and got an uncapped 4% net smelter return royalty on 100% of the project. To translate that into regular old English, they get future upside from that asset, without having to do the capital-intensive stuff — managing the development and construction, etc.

On the whole, I really like what I’m seeing. Strong fundamentals, sure, but more than that, competent management with a clear vision: simply the portfolio, focus on core competencies, return capital to shareholders, strengthen the balance sheet, and don’t take on unnecessary risk.

—> Click here to research SSRM

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