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

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders purchased 165,892 call options on the company. This is an increase of 193% compared to the average volume of 56,631 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on FCX shares. StockNews.com cut Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Argus cut Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $48.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $51.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.04.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 1.0 %

FCX stock opened at $40.31 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.93 billion, a PE ratio of 31.25, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.87. Freeport-McMoRan has a twelve month low of $33.98 and a twelve month high of $55.24. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.96.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its 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 predict that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCX. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 240.1% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 80,000 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $3,994,000 after purchasing an additional 56,475 shares in the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 10.2% during the third quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 6,018 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 15.6% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 71,497 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $3,569,000 after purchasing an additional 9,648 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter worth about $3,016,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 4.2% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 228,860 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $11,425,000 after purchasing an additional 9,153 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

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.