Cleveland-Cliffs Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:CLF)

Key Points

• Cleveland-Cliffs experienced an **unusual increase in options trading**, with 65,542 call options bought on Monday, a **37% rise** from its average daily volume.
• The company's stock rose to **$12.76**, with **14.7 million shares** traded, maintaining a market capitalization of **$6.31 billion** and a 52-week trading range of **$5.63 to $14.34**.
• Analysts have **raised price targets** for Cleveland-Cliffs, with Bank of America increasing its target from **$9.50 to $12.50**, reflecting a **bullish outlook** on the company's performance.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders bought 65,542 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 37% compared to the typical daily volume of 47,671 call options.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Performance

NYSE CLF traded up $0.39 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $12.76. 14,747,714 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 24,344,557. The business's fifty day moving average price is $10.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.93. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.74 and a beta of 1.93. Cleveland-Cliffs has a 52 week low of $5.63 and a 52 week high of $14.34.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The mining company reported ($0.50) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.68) by $0.18. The company had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.90 billion. Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative net margin of 9.03% and a negative return on equity of 17.97%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.11 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Cleveland-Cliffs will post -0.79 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CLF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $7.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $9.50 to $12.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $7.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. KeyCorp raised shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $14.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $8.00 to $10.50 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $11.24.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CLF. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs during the second quarter worth $63,731,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs during the second quarter worth $44,120,000. Turiya Advisors Asia Ltd bought a new position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs during the second quarter worth $39,357,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 20.2% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,450,442 shares of the mining company's stock worth $208,623,000 after acquiring an additional 4,603,807 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 200.4% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,329,414 shares of the mining company's stock worth $48,104,000 after acquiring an additional 4,222,528 shares during the last quarter. 67.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cleveland-Cliffs Company Profile

Cleveland-Cliffs is the largest flat-rolled steel company and the largest iron ore pellet producer in North America. The company is vertically integrated from mining through iron making, steelmaking, rolling, finishing and downstream with hot and cold stamping of steel parts and components. The company was formerly known as Cliffs Natural Resources Inc and changed its name to Cleveland-Cliffs Inc in August 2017.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.