Alumina shares still soaring as Goldman upgrades price target

The news: Shares in Alumina have soared for a second day, rallying more than 15% after Goldman Sachs upgraded the miner to a 'buy' rating and lifted its target price. Goldman's outlook brightened on balance sheet improvements for the miner's JV with Alcoa, likely regulatory approvals and a favourable alumina price forecast.

The numbers: Alumina shares were up 15.3% to $1.13 by 2:40pm AEDT. It followed an 8% surge yesterday after the miner announced the full curtailment of production at the Kwinana refinery in Western Australia. Goldman Sachs still sees plenty more upside and has a lifted its AWC price target to $1.43.

The context: The AWAC JV faced an onslaught of challenges in 2023, including unclear regulatory timelines, lower bauxite grades and production, higher costs at refineries in Australia and Spain and weak alumina prices. In response, AWAC has cut dividends and partially or fully curtailed production at unprofitable refineries.