Analyst Update: Eldorado Gold, Barrick Gold, Energy Focus

Analysts are weighing in today on mine operators Eldorado Gold Corp (USA) (NYSE:EGO) and Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX), as well as LED lighting company Energy Focus Inc (NASDAQ:EFOI). Here's a quick roundup of today's brokerage notes on EGO, ABX, and EFOI.

• This morning, EGO received notice that Greece halted its mining operations in the northern part of the country. Greek Energy Minister Panos Skourletis noted that Eldorado Gold Corp (USA) had violated "some terms" causing Greece to "[recall] approval of the technical studies, which will result in the halting of operations at Skouries and part of operations in Olympiada." Following this news, BMO downgraded EGO to "market perform" from "outperform" and cut its target price to $5 from $7. Shares of the mining concern have shed 9.4% at last check to trade at $3.80. Through yesterday's close, the stock had tacked on nearly 39% since hitting a low of $3.02 on July 24 -- and was in position to attempt a breakout above overhead resistance from its 80-day moving average. Today's news and resulting price drop has left EGO well below this trendline, located at $4.20, once again.

• ABX is doing better than mining cohort EGO this afternoon, as it is 2.7% higher at $7.87 after Macquarie raised its rating to "neutral" from "underperform." ABX is also gaining some momentum from a rise in gold futures, as the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) prepares to release its latest meeting minutes this afternoon.Technically, ABX continues to look up at resistance from its 10-month moving average. This trendline has provided resistance since September 2014 -- forcing the stock from $18.13 to today's high of $8.04; a roughly 56% drop. Given this bleak technical picture, it's not surprising that 11 of the 16 analysts following Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) rate it a "hold" or worse.  

• EFOI has advanced 8.5% to trade at $16.61 today, after Roth elevated its price target to $23 from $16 and maintained a "buy" rating. The brokerage noted that EFOI "remains one of the few companies in the lighting group that could continue seeing positive revisions to estimates." In addition, there was unconfirmed chatter yesterday that Energy Focus Inc was being targeted by Acuity Brands (NYSE:AYI) for a potential takeover. Shares of the LED lighting company touched a multi-year high of $19.20 just this past Friday, and currently boast a rather impressive 238% year-to-date gain.

For other stocks in analysts' crosshairs, read Analyst Upgrades: Google Inc, Marvell Technology Group Ltd., and Analog Devices, Inc. and Analyst Downgrades: Canadian Solar Inc., Yahoo! Inc., and Web.com Group Inc.