by Ian Cooper

There’s still a good deal of upside ahead for gold.

Last trading at $2,612, gold could easily test $3,000 near term.

Helping, Goldman Sachs just said that gold has the highest potential for a near-term price increase, as noted by LiveMint.com. “Imminent Fed rate cuts are poised to bring Western capital back into the gold market, a component largely absent of the sharp gold rally observed in the last two years,” the brokerage firm said in its note Go for Gold, they added.

The firm also raised its price target on gold prices to $2,700 by early 2025.

In addition, analysts at Morningstar say gold could reach $2,600 by 2025. It could even rally to $3,000 by 2025, according to Bank of America. In fact, according to the analysts, “We believe gold can hit $3,000/oz over the next 12-18 months, although flows do not justify that price level right now,” as quoted by Investing.com. Goldman Sachs says it could rally to $2,700 by 2025.

That being said, investors may want to jump into gold stocks such as:

Barrick Gold (GOLD)

With geopolitical tensions boiling over and uncertainty over U.S. elections, and the potential for further rate cuts, gold prices and the GOLD stock could easily push even higher. Last trading at $20.84, we’d like to see it test $25 near term.

GOLD was also upgraded to a buy rating by analysts at Argus Research with a $24 target.

“Barrick’s results are linked to trends in gold production and pricing, and given global economic uncertainty, inflation, and the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, gold has soared to cyclical high and likely will remain in demand,” said the firm, as noted by Seeking Alpha.

Newmont (NEM)

Analysts at Scotiabank just upgraded NEM to a sector outperform rating from a sector perform rating with a $30 target. Last trading at $53.71, we’d like to see NEM closer to $60. Scotiabank analysts expect for Newmont to show operational improvement and thus margin expansion in the second half of this year.

VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX)

Also, one of the best ways to diversify at less cost is with an ETF, such as the VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX). Not only can you gain access to some of the biggest gold stocks in the world, you can do so at less cost.