Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Trading Down 2.4% – Time to Sell?

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)’s share price traded down 2.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $53.29 and last traded at $54.1910. 22,316,922 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 2% from the average session volume of 22,768,615 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.50.

Key Headlines Impacting Freeport-McMoRan

Here are the key news stories impacting Freeport-McMoRan this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher price targets from major firms signal stronger bullish conviction — Scotiabank raised its target to $63 with an “outperform” rating. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its target to $68 and kept an “overweight” call, representing significant upside vs. recent levels. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America named Freeport among its top North American mining picks for 2026, supporting favorable institutional views on commodity exposure. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Short-term bullish technical/commodity momentum: coverage notes FCX is up ~30% over three months driven by strong copper prices and demand dynamics. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large call-option buying has been reported, indicating bullish speculative or hedged positioning that can amplify upside on positive news. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage consensus remains constructive (overall “Buy” consensus), which underpins medium-term analyst support but may not offset near-term headline risk. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation checks and commentary on recent momentum are circulating — useful context for longer-term positioning but mixed for immediate price direction. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: An array of law firms have filed or are soliciting lead-plaintiff roles in securities-class-action suits tied to a Feb 2022–Sep 2025 class period; multiple deadline reminders (Jan. 12) are creating sustained headline pressure and potential litigation risk. Representative notices: Read More., Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Operational cost headwind: Q3 unit cash costs jumped ~24% on lower copper volumes, and management flagged expectations for higher costs into Q4 — a direct earnings and margin risk. Read More.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FCX. HSBC reduced their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Johnson Rice reduced their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $48.00 in a report on Monday, September 29th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $51.73.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average is $45.39 and its 200-day moving average is $43.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $77.81 billion, a PE ratio of 38.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.45.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.09. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 7.84%. The business had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.74 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is currently 21.13%.

Insider Transactions at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 28,423 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.99, for a total value of $1,364,019.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 105,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,053,059.06. This represents a 21.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 9,572 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.66, for a total transaction of $456,201.52. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 38,761 shares in the company, valued at $1,847,349.26. This represents a 19.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 1,962.9% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 722 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 687 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

Freeport-McMoRan Inc is a U.S.-based natural resources company primarily engaged in the exploration, mining and processing of copper, gold and molybdenum. Its operations encompass large-scale open-pit and underground mining as well as associated concentrator and milling facilities. The company produces copper in the form of concentrates and cathodes, and also recovers gold and molybdenum as co-products; its business model includes exploration, development, mining, beneficiation and the sale of bulk commodities to smelters and industrial customers.

Freeport-McMoRan conducts operations and development activities across multiple geographies, with substantial assets in the Americas and Indonesia.