(This is “The Best Stocks in the Market,” brought to you by Josh Brown and Sean Russo of Ritholtz Wealth Management.) I pitched Newmont Mining (NEM) to the Halftime Report audience on April 17th as the name “Best Stock in the Market.” Instead of talking about it, you should have shut your fat mouth and bought the stock. Since then, it’s up almost 70%. This year has been the best year for gold, silver, and even copper mining stocks for as long as I can remember, and I’ve been doing this for a long time. Many of the names I’m about to introduce have been on the list for most of this year. This situation won’t last forever, but if you believe gold prices will continue to rise, these are the names you’ll want to keep an eye on. I can’t say I like where Newmont is today after seeing its stock price rise parabolically in just the last week or so. Stocks are now Empire State Building stocks, and this kind of trading can be dangerous to your health if you’re late. NEM is currently 65% above its 200-day simple moving average and 20% above its 50-day simple moving average. Read it and wait for the metals market to get worse. They will eventually bring this back to Earth. They always are. I would like it if the mid-80s can hold that level and solidify year-to-date gains for a while. I will visit again. Sean basically explains the best stocks in this sector and explains my preferred setup. Best Stocks to Watch: Metal Stocks Sean – If this year ended today, gold would be up 60%, making this the best year for gold since 1979. That’s a big reason why metals and mining are doing so well. This year, anything that touches precious metals will turn red. Silver may normally be considered a runner-up prize, but that’s not the case this year. By 2025, it will rise by 84%. Metals and Mining is the best industry group in the stock market, up an astonishing 91%. It’s hard to find an asset that will outperform its industry in 2025, which is why the gold bug has been so loud this year. A combination of tailwinds caused gold and silver to soar, pushing prices higher. Central bank demand, a weak dollar and geopolitical tensions will be the biggest themes for gold and silver in 2025. Check out some of the few precious metal stocks that make our list of best stocks. Their names are SCCO, AU, and NEM. These stocks have crashed this year. SCCO is up 49% year-to-date, NEM is up 151% and AU is up 226%. Southern Copper Corp (SCCO): One of the world’s largest copper producers, benefiting from strong global demand and tight supply from electrification and infrastructure spending. SCCO expects EPS growth to be 16% this year. AngloGold Ashanti (AU): A global gold mining company with operations in Africa and the Americas, taking advantage of rising gold prices and improved cost controls. AU has the fastest revenue growth in 2025, with EPS expected to grow 157% this year. Australia’s previous results showed free cash flow increased by 149%, with free cash flow margin improving from 16% to 28% in the quarter. Newmont Corporation (NEM): The world’s largest gold mining company, offering production diversification and cash flow sensitivity to rising gold prices. NEM expects EPS growth of 76% year-over-year for the next quarter, to be announced next week. As of last quarter, the company’s total cost to mine gold was $1,593 per ounce, about $2,600 less than the current price of gold. Risk Management Josh — Southern Copper seems to be expanding in the same way I talked to Newmont, so I’ll put a pin there. We would like to share some information about a third name with a great ticker symbol (AU), AngloGold Ashanti, and a great story about why this name has been able to keep accumulating. Until this year, AngloGold Ashanti was considered a risky foreign issuer in South Africa with an erratic history of disappointing capital returns to shareholders. In 2023, before the current gold bull market became a hot topic, we overhauled the legal and institutional structures that were preventing the expansion of gold holdings in the United States. AngloGold’s multi-year corporate relocation and index eligibility review was a game-changer. Two years ago, the company moved its headquarters from South Africa to the UK, established a new parent company, AngloGold Ashanti plc, and established a primary listing on the NYSE under the ticker AU (although it still maintains secondary listings in Johannesburg and Ghana). This re-addressing makes the company eligible for inclusion in U.S. equity benchmarks for the first time. Following FTSE Russell’s country allocation review in April 2025, AngloGold was classified within the US equity universe and subsequently added to the Russell 3000 and related sub-indices (including Russell Midcap) during a reconstitution on June 30 this summer. The move marks the company’s full integration into the global index system and increases investors’ exposure as passive US index funds and ETFs will automatically own AU shares for the first time. Now, the investor community can’t help but pay attention to this company. Earlier this year, AU announced a revamped dividend policy aimed at aligning shareholder dividends more directly with free cash flow while ensuring consistent underlying profits. There can’t be any more surprises (or at least big surprises) for shareholders. Under the new framework, the company plans to distribute 50% of its free cash flow to shareholders through dividends, with a minimum annual base dividend of 50 cents per share, paid quarterly even in periods of low profits (such as when gold prices are falling). This replaces the previous more volatile approach tied to 20% of free cash flow, which resulted in uneven distribution across the product cycle. Management emphasized that the updated policy reflects “stronger balance sheet flexibility, lower net debt, and a commitment to capital returns” as the company transitions into a more geographically diversified investment-grade gold producer with a larger institutional investor base. The goal is to create a reliable and transparent capital return framework comparable to global mining companies such as Barrick and Newmont, while allowing for upside participation even in a strong gold price environment. AU hasn’t grown as much as some of the other stocks on our best stocks list, but it’s currently consolidating gains with a bit of sideways movement as buyers and sellers are showing indecision. It’s completely normal. If you are bullish on gold and want to invest it through the stock market, I congratulate you on a trailing stop at the rising 50-day simple moving average. As seen above, the last 50 days have been very supportive since January, with all possible breaks below this turning to the upside. If you don’t get a buyer on your next test, that’s a sign to move on and do something else. I think you can own it until then. Disclosure: (none) All opinions expressed by CNBC Pro contributors are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, NBC UNIVERSAL, its parent or affiliate companies, and may have been previously disseminated on television, radio, the Internet, or another medium. The above is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. This content is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, tax, or legal advice or a recommendation to purchase any securities or other financial assets. The Content is general in nature and does not reflect any individual’s unique personal circumstances. The above may not be appropriate for your particular situation. Before making any financial decisions, you should strongly consider seeking the advice of your own financial or investment advisor. Investments involve risk. The analysis examples included in this article are examples only. The views and opinions expressed are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Ritholtz Wealth Management, LLC. Josh Brown is the Chief Executive Officer of Riholtz Wealth Management and may maintain securities positions in the securities discussed. 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