JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Stock

Key Points

• JPMorgan raised Freeport-McMoRan’s price target from $77 to $92 and maintained an “overweight” rating, implying 28.85% potential upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: FCX has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with one Strong Buy, 20 Buy and four Hold recommendations, although the average target of $75.67 is below JPMorgan’s forecast.
• Freeport-McMoRan recently exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.74 per share versus $0.62 expected and $7.03 billion in revenue, while insiders sold more than $8.3 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $77.00 to $92.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the natural resource company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price objective indicates a potential upside of 28.85% from the stock's previous close.

FCX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Erste Group Bank assumed coverage on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup raised their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $66.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings raised Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.67.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

NYSE:FCX traded down $1.16 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $71.40. 3,694,419 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,278,484. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.39. Freeport-McMoRan has a 1 year low of $38.54 and a 1 year high of $80.24. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.62 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 10.63% and a net margin of 11.39%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan will post 2.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 80,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.56, for a total transaction of $6,284,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 211,016 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,577,416.96. This represents a 27.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 4,773 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $334,110.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 36,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,520,000. The trade was a 11.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 110,398 shares of company stock worth $8,387,271. Insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 34.5% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,062,916 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $62,478,000 after purchasing an additional 272,726 shares during the last quarter. Iowa State Bank increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 50.7% during the 3rd quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 50,144 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $3,510,000 after buying an additional 16,868 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 9,970,872 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $627,068,000 after buying an additional 141,738 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 17.1% in the 2nd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,249,858 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $78,604,000 after purchasing an additional 182,714 shares during the period. Finally, Robinhood Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Freeport-McMoRan in the second quarter valued at approximately $16,746,000. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Freeport-McMoRan

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $70 to $87 and maintained an Overweight rating, implying substantial upside from recent levels. Wells Fargo Adjusts Price Target on Freeport-McMoRan to $87 From $70, Maintains Overweight Rating
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley also increased its price target from $70 to $75. Although it retained an Equal Weight rating, the revision signals improved valuation or commodity-price assumptions. Morgan Stanley Raises Freeport-McMoRan Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Deutsche Bank expects copper’s rally to continue, potentially reaching $10 per pound, driven by artificial-intelligence infrastructure and electric-vehicle demand. As a major copper producer, FCX stands to benefit from higher realized prices and stronger cash generation. Three Stocks to Buy as Deutsche Bank Says Copper Could Hit $10 a Pound
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlights FCX as a preferred established copper exposure, with the stock potentially having room to catch up if copper remains near multiyear highs. 3 Sectors Where Volatility Is Creating Entry Points, Not Exit Signals
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks notes that FCX is among its most-watched stocks and is evaluating whether the company can extend its history of earnings surprises in the next quarterly report. Is Trending Stock Freeport-McMoRan Inc. a Buy Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Reports are examining gold-shipment deferrals and steady copper output as factors that could shape FCX’s risk profile, suggesting commodity logistics and production execution remain important uncertainties. How Gold Shipment Deferrals and Steady Copper Output Could Shape Freeport-McMoRan’s Risk Profile

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

Freeport-McMoRan Inc NYSE: FCX is a leading international mining company focused primarily on the exploration, development and production of copper, gold and molybdenum. Copper is its principal product and is used in electrical systems, construction, transportation, renewable energy infrastructure and other industrial applications. The company also produces copper cathodes and concentrates, gold, molybdenum products and certain quantities of silver and other byproducts.

Freeport-McMoRan operates a portfolio of mining and processing assets in North America, South America and Indonesia.

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