Gold and Silver Prices Hit Record Highs, Mining Stocks Surge
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Dec 22 2025
0mins
Source: Benzinga
- Gold Price Surge: Gold prices jumped 2.3% to $4,440 per ounce, marking the strongest daily gain in over a month, with a year-to-date increase of 67%, indicating strong investor demand for safe-haven assets that could further boost related mining stocks.
- Silver's Strong Performance: Silver prices rose 2.1%, nearing the psychological $70 level, with a year-to-date increase of 133%, reflecting robust market interest in precious metals that may attract more investors to related ETFs.
- Mining Stocks Rally: The VanEck Gold Miners ETF and Global X Silver Miners ETF surged 3.6% and 5%, respectively, indicating increased investor confidence in mining companies, which could drive capital inflows and enhance overall industry valuations.
- Overall Market Strength: Major U.S. equity benchmarks extended gains for the third consecutive session, with the S&P 500 rising 0.8% and approaching record highs, suggesting a rebound in market risk appetite that may support investor sentiment ahead of upcoming economic data releases.
Get Free Real-Time Notifications for Any Stock
Monitor tickers like ASTS with instant alerts to capture every critical market movement.
Sign up for free to build your custom watchlist and receive professional-grade stock notifications.
Analyst Views on ASTS
Wall Street analysts forecast ASTS stock price to fall over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for ASTS is 74.26 USD with a low forecast of 43.00 USD and a high forecast of 100.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
9 Analyst Rating
4 Buy
3 Hold
2 Sell
Hold
Current: 121.230
Low
43.00
Averages
74.26
High
100.00
Current: 121.230
Low
43.00
Averages
74.26
High
100.00
About ASTS
AST SpaceMobile, Inc. is engaged in building a global cellular broadband network in space to operate directly with standard, unmodified mobile devices based on its intellectual property (IP) and patent portfolio and designed for both commercial and government applications. The Company is engaged in designing and developing the constellation of BlueBird (BB) satellites and has planned space-based Cellular Broadband network distributed through a constellation of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. Its SpaceMobile Service is being designed to provide high-speed cellular broadband services to end-users who are out of terrestrial cellular coverage using existing mobile devices. The Company intends to continue testing capabilities of the BW3 test satellite, including further testing with cellular service providers and the government. The Company has operations in India, Scotland, Spain, and Israel.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
VisionWave Holdings Strategic Partnership and Technology Expansion
- Strategic Partnership: VisionWave Holdings has entered into a $7 million strategic exchange agreement with SaverOne, aiming to acquire approximately 51% of the company, which will integrate VisionWave's RF sensing and AI analytics into SaverOne's VRU platform, enhancing concealed threat detection capabilities with a commercial solution expected to be demonstrated in 2026.
- Technology Acquisition: VisionWave acquired the qSpeed computational acceleration engine, valued at $99.6 million, designed to reduce decision latency between threat detection and response execution from minutes to seconds, thereby enhancing the responsiveness of its WaveStrike fire control systems and Argus counter-drone technology.
- Market Expansion Plans: VisionWave is expanding into Southern Europe through its Solar Drone Ltd. subsidiary, having secured follow-on hardware orders and distribution agreements in Italy and Spain, with plans to invest up to $10 million over the next 6 to 12 months to accelerate commercialization timelines.
- Defense Market Growth: The electronic warfare market is projected to reach $20.01 billion in 2026, driving demand for AI signal processing and autonomous threat detection platforms, with VisionWave's technologies supporting defense and security applications, enhancing competitiveness in complex environments.
Continue Reading
VisionWave Holdings Expands Strategy and Technology Integration
- Strategic Agreement: VisionWave Holdings has entered into a $7 million strategic exchange agreement with SaverOne 2014 Ltd., aiming to acquire approximately 51% of the Israeli tech firm, which will enhance its technological footprint and integrate RF sensing and AI analytics, boosting market competitiveness.
- Technology Acquisition: VisionWave's acquisition of the $99.6 million qSpeed computational acceleration engine aims to reduce decision latency between threat detection and response from minutes to seconds, significantly enhancing the responsiveness of its WaveStrike fire control systems and Argus counter-drone technology.
- Market Expansion: Through its subsidiary Solar Drone Ltd., VisionWave has secured follow-on hardware orders and distribution agreements in Italy and Spain for critical infrastructure maintenance, planning to invest up to $10 million over the next 6 to 12 months to accelerate commercialization timelines.
- Defense Market Growth: The U.S. National Defense Strategy emphasizes strengthening the domestic defense industrial base, with the electronic warfare market projected to reach $20.01 billion in 2026, indicating strong demand for AI signal processing and autonomous threat detection platforms, driving VisionWave's strategic positioning in the defense sector.
Continue Reading