Freeport-McMoRan Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:FCX)

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 83,180 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 56% compared to the average daily volume of 53,177 call options.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Up 9.3 %

Shares of NYSE FCX traded up $3.26 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $38.16. The company had a trading volume of 28,888,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,049,823. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.48. The company has a market capitalization of $54.83 billion, a PE ratio of 29.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.85. Freeport-McMoRan has a one year low of $34.26 and a one year high of $55.24.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.05). Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.42% and a return on equity of 7.50%. On average, equities analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 487.8% in the fourth quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 723 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Argus cut Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $51.00 to $46.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.04.

About Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc engages in the mining of mineral properties in North America, South America, and Indonesia. It primarily explores for copper, gold, molybdenum, silver, and other metals. The company's assets include the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia; Morenci, Bagdad, Safford, Sierrita, and Miami in Arizona; Chino and Tyrone in New Mexico; and Henderson and Climax in Colorado, North America, as well as Cerro Verde in Peru and El Abra in Chile.