Raymond James analysts led by Bruce MacArthur did some housekeeping in their metals coverage, as the price of gold continues to sputter, trading on July 10 below where it started the year and down 24 per cent from its record high of just over US$5,400 an ounce in January. The Raymond James team updated their nearer term and longer-term price targets for base and precious metals including copper, gold, silver, making stock recommendations along with those calls. In the metals landscape, the analysts hiked their price targets for copper — their top pick — on expected supply shortages. “As a result of the copper price forecast changes, we are broadly increasing price targets across the base metal producers under coverage,” the analysts said in a note on July 8, with Freeport McMoRan Inc. (FCX:NYSE) and Hudbay Minerals Inc. (HBM:TSX) their leading picks. In gold and silver, the team said it was “broadly” cutting price targets for precious metals producers though it still has preferred names in the sector including Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (AEM:TSX) for its lower geographic risk. The team also likes OceanaGold Corp. (OGC:TSX), citing improving production year. Raymond James is also bullish on the outlook for uranium and continues to recommend Cameco Corp. (CCO:TSX), NexGen Energy Ltd. (NXE:TSX), and Denison Mines Corp. (DML:TSX).