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

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Investors acquired 83,681 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 64% compared to the average daily volume of 51,110 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FCX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $60.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Seven investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.42.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

NYSE:FCX traded down $0.55 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $38.54. 22,105,160 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,491,560. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Freeport-McMoRan has a 12 month low of $36.26 and a 12 month high of $55.24. The stock has a market cap of $55.37 billion, a PE ratio of 28.15, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a fifty day moving average of $41.01 and a 200 day moving average of $44.08.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced 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 7.81% and a return on equity of 7.40%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 17.9% during the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,093 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 3,353 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 74.3% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 55,421 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $2,693,000 after acquiring an additional 23,629 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 60.0% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 274,740 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $13,352,000 after acquiring an additional 102,993 shares during the last quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 95.7% during the second quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,175 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $592,000 after purchasing an additional 5,954 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter valued at approximately $45,327,000. 80.77% of the stock is 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.