Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on IAMGOLD (NYSE:IAG)

IAMGOLD Co. (NYSE:IAG) (TSE:IMG) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock traders acquired 4,720 call options on the company. This is an increase of 116% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,183 call options.

IAMGOLD Price Performance

IAG stock traded down $0.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $6.33. 6,338,548 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,715,195. The stock has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 1.63. IAMGOLD has a one year low of $3.21 and a one year high of $6.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.57.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IAMGOLD

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of IAMGOLD by 130.6% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,384,778 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $28,385,000 after buying an additional 3,049,252 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of IAMGOLD by 3.9% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 471,617 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $2,474,000 after acquiring an additional 17,891 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of IAMGOLD by 107.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,819,600 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $46,174,000 after purchasing an additional 4,577,599 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of IAMGOLD by 368.1% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,521,670 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $7,772,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196,564 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of IAMGOLD by 10.8% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 109,558 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $575,000 after purchasing an additional 10,715 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.08% of the company’s stock.

About IAMGOLD

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.