Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on IAMGOLD (NYSE:IAG)

IAMGOLD Co. (NYSE:IAG) (TSE:IMG) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders bought 4,720 call options on the company. This is an increase of 116% compared to the average volume of 2,183 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James raised shares of IAMGOLD from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. National Bank Financial upgraded IAMGOLD to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. CIBC reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of IAMGOLD in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of IAMGOLD from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of IAMGOLD from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $6.90.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IAMGOLD

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IAG. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in IAMGOLD by 27.4% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,289,000 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $6,654,000 after purchasing an additional 277,000 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of IAMGOLD by 368.1% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,521,670 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $7,772,000 after buying an additional 1,196,564 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its holdings in shares of IAMGOLD by 54.0% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 5,119,599 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $26,452,000 after acquiring an additional 1,795,869 shares in the last quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. lifted its holdings in IAMGOLD by 44.5% during the fourth quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 352,315 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,820,000 after acquiring an additional 108,524 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in IAMGOLD by 66.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,511,328 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $7,904,000 after purchasing an additional 604,259 shares during the last quarter. 47.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

IAMGOLD Trading Down 2.3 %

IAG opened at $6.29 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a PE ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.61. IAMGOLD has a fifty-two week low of $3.44 and a fifty-two week high of $6.69. The company’s 50-day moving average is $5.99 and its 200 day moving average is $5.59.

IAMGOLD (NYSE:IAG) (TSE:IMG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The mining company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.05). IAMGOLD had a net margin of 50.19% and a return on equity of 10.64%. The company had revenue of $469.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $498.68 million. As a group, research analysts predict that IAMGOLD will post 0.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

IAMGOLD Company Profile

IAMGOLD Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates as an intermediate gold producer and developer in Canada and Burkina Faso. It owns 100% interest in the Westwood project that covers an area of 1,925 hectare and located in Quebec; a 60% interest in the Côté gold project, which covers an area of 596 square kilometer located in Ontario, Canada; and a 90% interests in the Essakane project that covers an area of 274,000 square kilometer situated in Burkina Faso.