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

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 83,180 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 56% compared to the typical volume of 53,177 call options.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

NYSE FCX traded up $3.26 during midday 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 quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.48. Freeport-McMoRan has a fifty-two week low of $34.26 and a fifty-two week high of $55.24. The stock has a market cap of $54.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.85.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FCX shares. Argus lowered Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $51.00 to $46.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.04.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mountaineer Partners Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 4,767.8% during the third quarter. Mountaineer Partners Management LLC now owns 11,933,126 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $595,702,000 after buying an additional 11,687,982 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 237.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,218,518 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $351,041,000 after buying an additional 6,486,011 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 31,885,531 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,214,203,000 after buying an additional 5,735,171 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 30.2% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 21,580,960 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $857,305,000 after acquiring an additional 5,001,531 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 38.1% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 16,273,162 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $619,682,000 after acquiring an additional 4,488,210 shares during the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.