Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX)

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors purchased 165,892 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 193% compared to the typical volume of 56,631 call options.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $40.72 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $58.51 billion, a PE ratio of 31.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.87. Freeport-McMoRan has a 12-month low of $33.98 and a 12-month high of $55.24. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $38.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.99.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on FCX. StockNews.com lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Argus cut Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Dbs Bank upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $48.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Thursday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.04.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FCX. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 240.1% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 80,000 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $3,994,000 after purchasing an additional 56,475 shares during the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 10.2% in the third quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 6,018 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 558 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 71,497 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $3,569,000 after buying an additional 9,648 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,016,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 228,860 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $11,425,000 after acquiring an additional 9,153 shares during the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

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.