UBS Group Has Lowered Expectations for Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Stock Price

Key Points

• UBS cut Freeport-McMoRan’s price target from $88 to $85 but maintained a “buy” rating, implying 27.77% upside from the prior close. The stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $75.67.
• Freeport-McMoRan reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings of $0.88 per share versus $0.82 expected and revenue of $7.55 billion, up 8.2% year over year.
• Despite supportive copper demand and long-term production plans, investors face risks from lower operating volumes, rising costs, commodity-price volatility and macroeconomic pressures. Insiders have sold more than 110,000 shares over the past 90 days.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by investment analysts at UBS Group from $88.00 to $85.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the natural resource company's stock. UBS Group's price objective suggests a potential upside of 27.77% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on FCX. Erste Group Bank initiated coverage on Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $73.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.67.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 0.9%

Freeport-McMoRan stock traded up $0.58 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $66.53. 9,498,225 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,918,077. The firm has a market cap of $95.53 billion, a PE ratio of 32.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.11. Freeport-McMoRan has a 12-month low of $38.54 and a 12-month high of $80.24.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The natural resource company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.06. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 10.63% and a net margin of 11.39%. The business had revenue of $7.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Freeport-McMoRan

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Ellie Mikes sold 4,773 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value 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. This represents a 11.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Stephen Higgins sold 14,277 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total transaction of $992,251.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 54,618 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,795,951. This trade represents a 20.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 110,398 shares of company stock valued at $8,387,271 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter valued at about $739,890,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 42,345,502 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $2,489,069,000 after purchasing an additional 7,044,775 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 101.2% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 11,498,267 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $675,896,000 after purchasing an additional 5,784,156 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 84.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,448,772 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $381,414,000 after purchasing an additional 2,501,881 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,485,424 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $4,181,268,000 after purchasing an additional 2,300,416 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Freeport-McMoRan

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results exceeded expectations: Freeport-McMoRan reported adjusted earnings of $0.88 per share versus the $0.82 consensus, while revenue increased 8.2% year over year to $7.55 billion, topping estimates. Higher copper and molybdenum prices offset weaker sales volumes and helped net income rise substantially from the prior-year period. Freeport-McMoRan Q3 revenue rises as copper prices boost earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Growth plans support the long-term outlook: Management is targeting copper sales above 4 billion pounds by 2028, supported by the recovery of the Grasberg operation, leaching technology and planned expansions. The company also said it is evaluating ways to increase molybdenum production at its Colorado mine. FCX Q3 Earnings Call Highlights Grasberg Recovery and Growth Plans
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain bullish: Goldman Sachs raised its price target to $83 from $81, while JPMorgan and Wells Fargo maintained “overweight” ratings. Their revised targets still imply meaningful upside, despite some target reductions. Goldman Sachs Adjusts Price Target on Freeport-McMoRan
• Neutral Sentiment: Structural copper demand remains supportive: Tight supply and demand from data centers, electrification and infrastructure could benefit FCX, although the company remains exposed to commodity-price volatility and currency movements. The world requires a lot more copper
• Negative Sentiment: Operating challenges temper the earnings strength: Lower production and sales volumes at Indonesian operations, along with rising production costs, remain risks. Wells Fargo reduced its target to $79 from $87 and JPMorgan lowered its target to $90 from $92, signaling some caution about valuation and execution.
• Negative Sentiment: Macro risks persist: Higher interest rates and a stronger U.S. dollar could pressure mining valuations and dollar-denominated commodity prices, potentially limiting further gains if yields continue rising.

About Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc NYSE: FCX is a global mining company primarily engaged in the exploration, development, and production of copper. Copper is used extensively in electrical wiring, construction, transportation, renewable energy systems, and other industrial applications. The company also produces gold and molybdenum, a metal used in steelmaking and other industrial processes, as well as certain other byproducts.

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

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.