Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Shares of Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $58.18, but opened at $60.71. Cameco shares last traded at $59.72, with a volume of 1,955,570 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Cameco in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $52.00 target price on the stock. Glj Research upped their target price on Cameco from $62.76 to $75.68 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Stifel Canada upgraded shares of Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Cameco in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Cameco in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $70.53.

Cameco Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $26.18 billion, a PE ratio of 214.82 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $46.57 and its 200 day moving average is $49.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 2.88.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $549.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $890.07 million. Cameco had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 4.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Cameco Co. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cameco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Country Club Bank raised its holdings in Cameco by 0.5% in the first quarter. Country Club Bank now owns 43,553 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,822,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Cameco by 37.4% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 830 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in shares of Cameco by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 50,438 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,592,000 after buying an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Cameco by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. now owns 30,875 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,587,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunpointe LLC grew its position in Cameco by 1.8% in the first quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 16,281 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $670,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.21% of the company’s stock.

Cameco Company Profile

Cameco Corporation provides uranium for the generation of electricity. It operates through Uranium, Fuel Services, Westinghouse segments. The Uranium segment is involved in the exploration for, mining, and milling, purchase, and sale of uranium concentrate. The Fuel Services segment engages in the refining, conversion, and fabrication of uranium concentrate, as well as the purchase and sale of conversion services.