The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition that the price of gold is hitting fresh record highs, but the share prices of many gold producers are in the dumps. The Globe's David Berman writes that gold rallied above $2,150 an ounce last week, for a gain of more than 17 per cent from its recent low in October. Analysts at Bank of Nova Scotia argued in a note last week that some stocks are far more sensitive to the price of gold than others. In a rising gold environment, companies with more debt, higher costs and lower-grade mines -- contrary to what you might think -- should do better. "Each of these elements contributes to financial and operational leverage, which in turn makes each company's intrinsic value more closely tied to the changing underlying price of gold," Scotiabank analysts said. Their number-crunching points to smaller producers such as Equinox Gold, Argonaut Gold and Galiano Gold as top prospects if gold continues to shine. If gold prices wobble, then royalty companies such as Wheaton Precious Metals or senior producers such as Barrick or Agnico Eagle Mines might offer a safer bet. Mr. Berman figures that with record-high gold prices, it seems only a matter of time before gold stocks catch on.