NEW YORK, Dec. 28, 2025, 2:56 a.m. ET — Market closed (Weekend)
Skeena Resources Limited (NYSE: SKE) heads into the final full week of the year with momentum on its side after the stock finished Friday’s U.S. session higher, while fresh reporting around its flagship Eskay Creek project keeps the company’s “social license” and permitting narrative in the spotlight.
With U.S. exchanges shut until Monday’s opening bell, investors are using the weekend to digest three key threads that are shaping the near-term setup for SKE: (1) a strong end-of-week move in the shares, (2) renewed attention on the Tahltan Nation agreement around Eskay Creek and cross-border environmental scrutiny, and (3) analyst target updates that—depending on the data source—cluster modestly above current levels. [1]
SKE stock recap: a Friday gain into a thin holiday tape
Skeena’s U.S.-listed shares closed Friday, Dec. 26 at $25.42, up 3.80% on the day, after trading between $24.40 and $25.55, with reported volume around 628K shares. [2]
Extended-hours pricing also tilted positive: one brokerage data snapshot showed SKE at $25.60 at 6:00 p.m. ET Friday, up 0.71% from the regular-session close. [3]
It’s worth noting that Skeena is also cross-listed in Canada (TSX: SKE). The TSX line showed a most recent close of C$33.43 on Dec. 24 (reflecting the Canadian market’s late-week holiday schedule), which can create a short-term “two-market narrative” where the U.S. line trades while the Canadian line is paused. [4]
Broader market context: year-end highs and a metals tailwind narrative
Skeena is a precious-metals developer, so macro tape can matter—sometimes a lot—especially when investors are trying to price optionality in gold and silver. On Friday, Reuters reported that U.S. indexes ended near record peaks in a muted post-Christmas session, while precious metals prices hit records amid rate-cut expectations and safe-haven demand. Reuters also cited MUFG commodities analyst Soojin Kim pointing to “major banks forecasting further gains into 2026” among the supports for the rally. [5]
That kind of backdrop doesn’t “make” a project, but it can change the way the market discounts a developer’s future cash flows—particularly for a high-grade gold-silver asset where the long-term thesis often leans on metals prices plus execution.
Eskay Creek headlines: why the Tahltan agreement is back in focus
The most material company-specific development this month remains Skeena’s announcement that the Tahltan Nation voted in support of an Impact Benefit Agreement (IBA) tied to the development and future operation of the company’s 100%-owned Eskay Creek Gold-Silver Project. Skeena also said a decision from the Tahltan Central Government board regarding consent would be under consideration in January 2026. [6]
That timeline matters for investors because it pins a calendar marker to a topic markets tend to price in bursts: local support, governance, and permitting momentum.
Skeena also furnished the same December 15 news release as an exhibit in a U.S. Form 6‑K filing (a standard disclosure route for foreign private issuers). [7]
New reporting raises the volume on “social license” and transboundary risk
In the last 48 hours, a regional report co-published by Northern Journal/Wrangell Sentinel (carried by the Chilkat Valley News) drew fresh attention to the IBA’s community economics and the project’s downstream geography.
Among the details cited by the outlet:
- Tahltan officials have said the agreement guarantees benefits worth more than $1 billion over the life of the mine (though the specifics were described as not public). [8]
- The deal includes an upfront payment intended to be distributed to Tahltan members—$7,250 per person, according to Tahltan officials—with payments expected in 2026. [9]
- The outlet reported the referendum passed with support from more than 77% of roughly 1,750 Tahltans who voted, citing Tahltan Central Government. [10]
- It also described ongoing concerns from Alaska-based tribal leaders and groups downstream, including reference to a legal challenge filed by the Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission that includes Eskay Creek among projects named. [11]
The same report quoted Tahltan president Kerry Carlick emphasizing an active oversight posture: “We are embedding ourselves directly into the governance of environmental protection.” [12]
For investors, this cluster of issues is not just ESG “color.” It’s a real risk surface that can affect timelines, permitting friction, and ultimately the discount rate markets apply to a development-stage company—especially for a project located in a politically sensitive, cross-border watershed.
What analysts are forecasting: targets cluster above current levels, but sources differ
On Wall Street coverage, the headline takeaway is that published consensus targets generally sit above the latest TSX price—but not by a moonshot margin.
- Investing.com’s compiled consensus (TSX: SKE) showed 11 analysts, an average 12‑month price target of C$36.40, and an indicated +8.88% upside versus C$33.43, with a high of C$45 and low of C$25.1. It also lists the consensus rating as “Strong Buy.” [13]
- Simply Wall St shows a similar consensus table: C$36.40 average target on 11 analysts with the same C$45 / C$25.10 high/low framing. [14]
- TipRanks (TSX: SKE) shows a smaller set—6 analysts—with an average target around C$36.08 (high C$45, low C$25.50) and a “Strong Buy” consensus on its tracked ratings. [15]
For the U.S.-listed line (NYSE: SKE), a Nasdaq-hosted piece citing Fintel data said the average one-year price target was revised to $26.55, up from a prior $23.33 estimate dated Dec. 5. [16]
Meanwhile, MarketBeat’s aggregation painted a more mixed “street” picture—still constructive, but less unanimous—describing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and referencing coverage from firms including Desjardins, Raymond James, and Scotiabank. [17]
If you’re trying to reconcile these differences: this is what happens when different platforms track different analyst universes, ratings scales, and currency baselines (CAD vs. USD). The sensible move is to treat targets as signals about assumptions (metal prices, capex, permitting timing), not as promises.
Fundamentals investors keep circling back to: what Skeena is (and isn’t) today
Skeena is not a producing miner; it’s a precious-metals developer advancing Eskay Creek in British Columbia’s Golden Triangle, and it also owns the past-producing Snip gold mine (which Reuters notes produced 1.1 million ounces historically). [18]
That developer status shapes how the stock trades:
- It can move sharply on permits, agreements, financing milestones, and metals prices.
- It can also be vulnerable to delays, cost inflation, and the “headline risk” that accompanies large projects near sensitive waterways.
On recent financial performance, MarketBeat noted the company’s latest quarterly results (reported Nov. 13) showed a loss per share that missed consensus expectations, and it cited an estimated full-year loss per share figure as well. [19]
What investors should know before the next session
With the market closed right now and the next regular session opening Monday morning, the practical question is: what could change between now and the bell?
Here are the pressure points most likely to matter for SKE into Monday, Dec. 29:
1) Watch for any weekend-to-Monday metals repricing.
Reuters flagged record precious-metals pricing and strong narrative support (rate-cut expectations, safe-haven flows). A gap in gold/silver sentiment can quickly spill into developers—even if nothing company-specific hits the tape. [20]
2) Track the Eskay Creek governance timeline.
Skeena’s own disclosure points to a January 2026 decision window for Tahltan Central Government board consideration of consent. That’s close enough to start influencing positioning, headlines, and “risk-on / risk-off” behavior around any new updates. [21]
3) Don’t ignore the transboundary scrutiny.
The latest reporting elevated downstream concerns, including reference to legal action and regulatory trust issues. Even if the market shrugs in the short run, this theme can affect long-run permitting confidence—one of the biggest valuation levers for a developer. [22]
4) Expect liquidity quirks.
MarketBeat described Friday as light trading earlier in the day, consistent with holiday-week conditions, and SKE can be prone to sharper swings when liquidity is uneven. That matters most in premarket and the first hour after the open. [23]
5) Know where to find the next public touchpoints.
Skeena’s investor page lists multiple upcoming January/February 2026 conference appearances and also provides a roster of sell-side firms covering the name (useful for tracking research notes when they hit). [24]
The weekend bottom line on Skeena stock
Skeena Resources enters Monday’s session with a strong late-week close in the U.S. listing and a market backdrop that—at least as of Friday—has been friendly to precious-metals narratives. At the same time, the newest reporting reminds investors that Eskay Creek’s path forward is as much about governance, consent, and cross-border environmental credibility as it is about grade and ounces in the ground.
That combination—momentum plus real-world permitting complexity—is exactly why SKE tends to be a high-volatility, catalyst-driven stock.
References
1. stockanalysis.com, 2. stockanalysis.com, 3. public.com, 4. stockanalysis.com, 5. www.reuters.com, 6. www.globenewswire.com, 7. www.sec.gov, 8. www.chilkatvalleynews.com, 9. www.chilkatvalleynews.com, 10. www.chilkatvalleynews.com, 11. www.chilkatvalleynews.com, 12. www.chilkatvalleynews.com, 13. www.investing.com, 14. simplywall.st, 15. www.tipranks.com, 16. www.nasdaq.com, 17. www.marketbeat.com, 18. www.reuters.com, 19. www.marketbeat.com, 20. www.reuters.com, 21. www.globenewswire.com, 22. www.chilkatvalleynews.com, 23. www.marketbeat.com, 24. skeenagoldsilver.com
