Perth, June 26, 2026, 03:08 AWST
- The stock ended the session at A$19.92, falling 3.25%. The S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) slipped 0.68%.
- The buyback filing allows another 16.31 million shares. With Thursday’s close, A$46.3 million of the A$500 million buyback budget is still unspent.
- Gold pushed back over US$4,000 once the ASX had closed.
Northern Star Resources is under the buyback average as trading starts Friday, with shares below the average price the company paid so far. There’s a fixed share cap on the current buyback, so if the stock hangs around Thursday’s close, Northern Star can’t use the entire A$500 million. The ASX cash market wasn’t open when this story published; Friday is a regular trading session.
The shares dropped A$0.67 to finish at A$19.92 on Thursday. They were in a range between A$19.73 and A$20.37. About 5.18 million shares changed hands, below the 7.28 million daily average. Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX:EVN) ended 3.81% lower, with Newmont Corporation CDI (ASX:NEM) down 3.05%, signaling selling across the space.
Northern Star said in a June 24 filing it bought 149,444 shares on June 23 for A$3.09 million. The company has now picked up 6.32 million shares, spending A$128.87 million in total. That’s an average price of around A$20.39, about 2.3% higher than Thursday’s close.
Northern Star says the filing allows for up to 22.62 million shares, based on A$500 million divided by the April 1 close of A$22.10. The company is able to pick up another 16.31 million shares within that amount.
There’s still A$371.13 million left in the cash budget. To use all of it under the current share cap, future buys would need to average A$22.76. If the company buys the rest of the allowed shares at A$19.92, that would use up A$324.81 million more, bringing total spend to A$453.68 million. That would leave about A$46.32 million, or 9.3% of the budget, unused.
Northern Star’s A$500 million buyback comes to about 1.8% of the company’s market cap. At Thursday’s close, that drops to near 1.6% because of the share cap in place. If Northern Star doesn’t lift its maximum, a falling share price means it can spend less before it hits the limit. The most recent update is still the June 24 buyback notice on the company’s website.
The stock moved lower after spot gold fell 3.3% on Wednesday to US$3,973.79 an ounce, the weakest level since November. Independent metals trader Tai Wong said a “surging dollar at 13-month highs” was putting “heavy pressure on precious metals.” Reuters
Gold bounced back after the Australian market closed, with spot gold up 0.8% at US$4,032.74. U.S. inflation came in as expected and the dollar slipped. David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures, said the inflation numbers were “part of the reason why gold is relatively level-headed today.” Reuters
Northern Star is guiding for gold sales over 1.5 million ounces in fiscal 2026, with all-in sustaining costs seen at A$2,600 to A$2,800 an ounce. Managing Director Stuart Tonkin said results will “remain particularly dependent on mill throughput at KCGM.” The enlarged KCGM mill is set for commissioning in early fiscal 2027.
Capital allocation at Northern Star is facing more pressure after Elliott Investment Management disclosed a stake of over 4% and pushed for a strategic review. Pendal Group’s Brenton Saunders said the company “does need to be shaken up” and called Elliott’s approach “usually very effective, if somewhat unorthodox.” Reuters
Northern Star will release its June-quarter results on July 29, according to a posting on its site.
