Screening Filters
Market cap ≥ $1,000,000,000
- Purpose: Focus on larger, more established metals & mining companies.
- Rationale: For a “best stock to buy” type question, using a $1B+ market cap cutoff filters out tiny, illiquid, and more speculative silver miners. Larger caps are more likely to have:
- Better access to capital
- More diversified assets (multiple mines/projects)
- More consistent reporting and governance
PriceAboveMA200 (share price above 200-day moving average)
- Purpose: Select stocks in a generally positive or improving long-term trend.
- Rationale: The 200-day moving average is a common long-term trend indicator. Requiring price > 200DMA means:
- The stock is not in a deep downtrend
- Market is, at minimum, neutral-to-positive on the company
This helps avoid silver-related stocks that are structurally weak or in prolonged declines.
Industry: Metals & Mining
- Purpose: Restrict the universe to companies that actually produce or explore for metals, including silver.
- Rationale: “Related to silver” almost always means silver miners, royalty/streaming companies, or diversified precious metal producers. Metals & Mining is the most direct industry anchor to capture silver-focused firms.
Theme: Gold Mining and Precious Metals
- Purpose: Narrow further to companies dealing in precious metals (gold, silver, platinum group, etc.).
- Rationale: Silver is a precious metal. Many silver producers are classified under broader “precious metals” or “gold & silver” themes. Using this theme:
- Filters out base-metal-only miners (e.g., pure iron ore, coal)
- Increases the chance the results are gold/silver-focused or diversified precious metals companies that have meaningful silver exposure
Region: US
- Purpose: Limit results to companies listed/primary in the US market.
- Rationale: Many investors asking about “the best stock to buy” are typically interested in US-listed names for:
- Better liquidity
- Easier access through common brokers
- Familiar regulatory environment
Note: Some major silver producers are listed in Canada, Mexico, or elsewhere; this filter prioritizes convenience and market access over global completeness.
Net margin ≥ 5%
- Purpose: Focus on companies that are currently profitable (or at least reasonably so).
- Rationale: Mining is cyclical and many silver miners run at thin or negative margins in weak metals markets. A minimum 5% net margin aims to:
- Filter out companies struggling to make money at current metal prices
- Highlight more efficient, cost-competitive producers
Debt-to-equity ≤ 0.8
- Purpose: Select companies with moderate or conservative leverage.
- Rationale: Mining is capital-intensive and volatile. High debt can become dangerous when metal prices fall. By capping D/E at 0.8, the screen:
- Emphasizes balance sheet strength
- Reduces the risk of distress/dilution in downturns
For a “best buy” candidate, financial resilience matters, especially in a cyclical commodity like silver.
One-month predicted return ≥ 0
- Purpose: Exclude stocks with a negative short-term model-based outlook.
- Rationale: Without promising any outcome, this filter uses a quantitative signal (predicted 1-month return) to:
- Avoid names where models suggest near-term downside
- Keep only those with neutral or positive expected short-term performance
This is aligned with trying to identify potentially attractive entries rather than stocks expected to underperform.
Why Results Match the User’s Question
- The industry and precious metals theme directly target companies whose business is in gold, silver, and other precious metals, which is exactly where silver producers and silver-exposed firms sit.
- The market cap, profitability, and debt filters shift the focus from speculative micro-cap explorers to more established, financially healthier silver/precious metal companies—more appropriate when asking for the “best” stock, not just any silver name.
- The price above 200-day MA and non-negative predicted 1-month return add a trend and quantitative layer, emphasizing names with at least neutral-to-positive technical and modeled outlooks.
- The US region ensures the results are likely accessible and liquid for a typical US-based investor.
Overall, these filters work together to find US-listed, established, financially sound precious metals miners (including silver-exposed names) that are in relatively constructive trends, which is a practical interpretation of “the best stock to buy related to silver.”
This list is generated based on data from one or more third party data providers. It is provided for informational purposes only by Intellectia.AI, and is not investment advice or a recommendation. Intellectia does not make any warranty or guarantee relating to the accuracy, timeliness or completeness of any third-party information, and the provision of this information does not constitute a recommendation.