Wheaton Precious Plummets 5.86% Amid Sector-Wide Turbulence—What’s Driving the Selloff?

Summary
• Wheaton Precious (WPM) opens at $119.03 and plummets to an intraday low of $117.24 before trading at $121.20 at 19:26.
• The stock has fallen 5.86% from its previous close of $128.75, with volume reaching 3,428,223 shares.
• The precious metals sector is under pressure, with junior silver miner ETFs like SILJ down nearly 6.5% and GDX down 6.1%.

Wheaton Precious has endured a sharp selloff amid a sector-wide bearish tide. While the firm itself has no recent news to trigger the drop, the broader gold and silver miners' ETFs are collapsing. Technical indicators confirm a bearish short-term trend, raising questions about whether the decline is justified by fundamentals or a broader flight from risk in the space.

Sector-Wide Selloff Amplifies Bearish Momentum
Wheaton Precious's 5.86% intraday decline is a direct reflection of the broader bearish momentum in the precious metals sector. Although the company has not issued any news to explain the drop, the sharp selloff in leveraged miner ETFs such as SILJ and GDX signals a market-level shift in sentiment. The stock is currently trading below its 100-day moving average of $125.30 and is approaching key support levels. The short-term bearish trend is reinforced by the RSI dropping below 30 and the MACD histogram showing a widening bearish gap. These signals point to a continuation of the downtrend unless the stock manages to break above the $125 level.

Precious Metals Sector in Freefall as Miners Take the Brunt
The precious metals sector is under severe pressure, with the sector leader Gold.com (GOLD) down 3.78%. Junior miner ETFs such as SILJ and SLJY are among the worst performers, with SILJ shedding 6.5%. Leveraged miner ETFs like GDX and MINY are also down more than 6% and 4.6%, respectively. This synchronized selloff across the sector reinforces the idea that the move in Wheaton Precious is part of a broader market-driven bearish shift rather than a company-specific event. The sector-wide decline suggests investors are rotating out of mining equities amid shifting macroeconomic expectations and gold’s mixed performance.

Bearish Technicals and High-Leverage Put Options Signal Short-Side Opportunities
• 200-day average: $111.48 (below)
• 100-day average: $125.30 (below)
• RSI: 20.58 (oversold)
• MACD: -1.84 (bearish divergence)
• Bollinger Band range: 131.33–168.17
• Intraday range: $117.24–$122.17

With WPM trading near the lower Bollinger Band and RSI in oversold territory, the stock appears to be in a short-term bearish phase. However, the long-term trend remains bullish given the stock’s 52-week high of $165.76 and a dynamic PE of 45.18. Key support levels lie just below $121 and $114, with the 30-day average at $147.84 and 200-day average at $111.48 acting as critical benchmarks. Given the sector’s weakness, investors might consider shorting the stock using high-leverage put options while hedging with ETFs like GDX. The Amplify Junior Silver Miners ETF (SILJ) and VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX) remain high-liquidity, leveraged options for sector exposure.

• WPM20260327P115 (Put) – Code: WPM20260327P115, Strike: $115, Expiry: 2026-03-27
• Implied Volatility (IV): 74.91% (High)
• Delta: -0.3044 (moderate bearish sensitivity)
• Theta: -0.1095 (fast time decay)
• Gamma: 0.02455 (moderate sensitivity to price moves)
• Turnover: 3,658

• WPM20260327P114 (Put) – Code: WPM20260327P114, Strike: $114, Expiry: 2026-03-27
• Implied Volatility (IV): 65.87% (High)
• Delta: -0.2575 (moderate bearish sensitivity)
• Theta: -0.0851 (moderate time decay)
• Gamma: 0.0257 (moderate sensitivity to price moves)
• Turnover: 647

Both contracts offer high leverage with IV in the mid-to-high range, making them strong short-side plays under a 5% bearish assumption. For WPM20260327P115, a 5% downside move to $115.14 would result in a payoff of $0.14 (max(0, 115 - 115.14 = 0), but with the current price at $121.20, the put would start in-the-money if the price drops. For WPM20260327P114, a 5% move to $115.14 would yield a payoff of $9.86. These options offer attractive leverage with decent liquidity, particularly WPM20260327P115, which has the highest turnover and most aggressive theta decay for short-term bearish moves.

If WPM breaks below $114, WPM20260327P114 offers a strong short-side setup. Aggressive bulls may consider the WPM20260327C121 call if a $121 retest triggers a bounce above the 100-day average.

Backtest Wheaton Precious Stock Performance
The backtest of WPM's performance after a -6% intraday plunge from 2022 to now shows favorable results, with win rates and returns indicating the strategy's resilience and potential for positive gains:

Bullish Long-Term Outlook Clouded by Near-Term Volatility—Stay Cautious on Entry
Wheaton Precious remains in a long-term bullish trend but is currently caught in a short-term bearish selloff driven by sector-wide weakness in gold and silver miners. The stock is near key support at $114 and the 200-day moving average, which could offer a buying opportunity for long-term investors if the price stabilizes. However, given the sector’s continued underperformance and the stock’s weak technical indicators, a cautious approach is warranted. Investors should closely monitor whether the stock can retest the $125 level or if it breaks below $114. For now, short-side options like WPM20260327P115 and leveraged ETFs like SILJ and GDX offer the best risk-reward setups. With Gold.com (GOLD) down 3.78% and the sector facing renewed pressure, investors should watch for a potential re-entry trigger above the 100-day average or a decisive breakdown below the $114 level.