Gold miner Randgold Resources has been slapped with five downgrades in 2016, yet the stock refused to dull its shine, and is up an astounding 94 percent this year.

Jim Cramer explained the run, stating that the strength in Randgold is about more than just the underlying commodity.

"I used to see this pattern a lot back at my old hedge fund, and it typically meant that big institutional money managers had fallen in love with a stock," the "Mad Money" host said.

Normally when a stock is hit with a wave of downgrades, it tends to be crushed. Randgold continued climbing as if nothing happened, which caught Cramer's attention.

Randgold is one of the largest gold miners operating in Africa under the leadership of CEO Mark Bristow. The company operates in places where others won't that are known for instability, such as Mali, Ivory Coast and Democratic Republic of Congo. As long as gold is plentiful, Bristow is willing to mine there.

The company came under fire from analysts who noted that the stock had jumped to $90 in February from $60 in January because of a rebound in the price of gold. They assumed the easy money had been made and there was no way the stock could keep running.

Morgan Stanley found that Randgold's massive outperformance relative to the underlying commodity suggested that buyers assumed gold would continue to climb higher to levels that weren't credible at the time. Other analysts worried about seasonal fluctuations and Randgold's difficult comparisons versus 2015.

"Fast forward to today, and the bear case couldn't have been more wrong," Cramer said.

The price of gold has actually risen due to increased economic turmoil, which Cramer related to Britain's vote to leave the EU. Randgold closed at $120 on Wednesday.

Additionally, Randgold has the largest and cheapest gold reserves in the world. That means it can quickly ramp up production when gold prices move higher, while maintaining low cost. That business model indicates the company is less held hostage to the price of gold than other miners, as it can turn a profit even when the price of going is going down.

Ultimately, Cramer highlighted Randgold for the purpose of teaching investors how to spot a stock that will continue to rise in the face of downgrades. He has always recommended that investors have some gold exposure in their portfolio as an insurance against inflation or economic chaos.

"If you think gold is headed back to all-time highs, then with Randgold you've finally found a stock that is better than bullion itself. Yes, it's the stock that's good as gold," Cramer said.

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