NEW YORK, June 26, 2026, 17:01 EDT
- Hecla rose 2.57% to $15.54. Volume hit 112.35 million shares, roughly 5.3 times the average.
- The stock saw about $1.75 billion in notional value traded, or about 17% of its market cap.
- Spot silver edged higher Friday, though it held well under Hecla’s average realized price for silver in the first quarter.
- Investors are looking at a straightforward cash-flow test. The current stock rally is up against Q1 margins, which came in while silver was trading higher than today.
Hecla Mining Company NYSE:HL closed at $15.54 on Friday, gaining 2.57%. Volume was heavy at 112.35 million shares, far above the usual 21.25 million shares shown on Google Finance. The miner’s market cap is $10.42 billion.
At Friday’s price, the turnover was about $1.75 billion in notional value, nearly 17% of Hecla’s market cap, based on price and volume data. That stands out: the silver miner, still trading 54% under its 52-week high, saw strong demand after a steep drop in the metal. Google Finance puts Hecla’s 52-week high at $34.17 and the low at $5.48.
Silver moved up, but that wasn’t the whole story. Spot silver gained 2.2% to $59.12 an ounce Friday. Spot gold was up 1.3%, according to Reuters. On Thursday, a Reuters technical report said silver had given up about half its value since a January high.
Hecla’s focus is the spread between today’s silver price and what it earned on its sales last quarter. The company reported a realized silver price of $82.70 per ounce in Q1. On Friday, the spot price was roughly 28.5% below that mark. Traders are now watching to see how much of Hecla’s first-quarter cash flow holds up if silver remains close to $59 instead of the $80s.
Hecla posted first-quarter free cash flow from continuing operations of $144 million and adjusted EBITDA of $265 million. Based on Friday’s market cap of $10.42 billion, the stock traded at roughly 18 times annualized Q1 free cash flow. That’s a lower multiple than after the stock’s rally earlier this year, but it’s based on a quarter with much higher metal prices.
Hecla’s balance sheet is part of the bull case for some buyers. The company finished the first quarter holding $588 million in cash with $266 million in total debt. Then in April, it redeemed its last $263 million in 7.25% senior notes, the results release showed.
Hecla president and CEO Rob Krcmarov said the Casa Berardi sale puts more attention on silver and leaves the company debt-free. Hecla also now has a $225 million undrawn revolver, he said.
Hecla traded ahead of silver proxies on Wednesday. The iShares Silver Trust NYSEARCA:SLV added 1.77%, with the Global X Silver Miners ETF NYSEARCA:SIL up 1.65%. Hecla saw volume jump—its notional turnover came in more than double the roughly $815 million in SLV, and blew past SIL’s estimated $57 million, based on exchange data.
Hecla is a pure-play silver name in North America. The company claims it’s the top silver producer in the U.S. and Canada, with mines running in Alaska, Idaho, and the Yukon.
Wall Street has mixed views. Google Finance lists six recent ratings: three buy, two hold, one sell. Average 12-month target comes in at $22.54, but price targets stretch from $13.50 to $26.75. That range fits how the stock trades after Friday’s jump. The company is debt-free and focused on silver, but valuation still depends on silver moving back up to what Hecla got in Q1.
Related articles: NYSE:HL
