Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Cameco Put Options (NYSE:CCJ)

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders purchased 28,210 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 942% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,706 put options.

Cameco Price Performance

Cameco stock opened at $44.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.01. Cameco has a 12 month low of $35.43 and a 12 month high of $62.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.42 billion, a PE ratio of 159.34 and a beta of 1.04.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.26. The business had revenue of $845.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. Cameco had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 4.34%. Equities analysts predict that Cameco will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CCJ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Cameco in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cameco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Glj Research increased their price target on shares of Cameco from $62.76 to $75.68 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Stifel Canada raised shares of Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Cameco in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $73.64.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Old West Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cameco by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Old West Investment Management LLC now owns 282,072 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,472,000 after acquiring an additional 26,584 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cameco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $768,000. Swiss National Bank raised its position in shares of Cameco by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,314,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $62,892,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its position in shares of Cameco by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 50,086 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,392,000 after purchasing an additional 1,205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Cameco by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 154,972 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,401,000 after purchasing an additional 1,830 shares during the last quarter. 70.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cameco Company Profile

Cameco Corporation provides uranium for the generation of electricity. It operates through Uranium, Fuel Services, Westinghouse segments. The Uranium segment is involved in the exploration for, mining, and milling, purchase, and sale of uranium concentrate. The Fuel Services segment engages in the refining, conversion, and fabrication of uranium concentrate, as well as the purchase and sale of conversion services.