Cleveland-Cliffs Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:CLF)

Key Points

• Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. experienced a significant increase in options trading with the acquisition of 59,613 call options, representing a 30% rise from its average volume.
• The stock price rose by 24%, reaching $16.51 on Monday, with a substantial trading volume of over 36 million shares.
• Recent analyst ratings show a mix of optimism and caution, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $11.93, while three analysts have rated the stock as a Buy.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors acquired 59,613 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 30% compared to the average volume of 45,857 call options.

Cleveland-Cliffs Trading Up 24.0%

CLF stock traded up $3.19 during trading on Monday, hitting $16.51. The company had a trading volume of 36,505,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,583,766. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.83 and a beta of 1.96. Cleveland-Cliffs has a 52-week low of $5.63 and a 52-week high of $16.63. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CLF shares. KeyCorp raised shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $14.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $8.00 to $10.50 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from $12.85 to $14.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $11.93.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 20.2% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. bought a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs during the 2nd quarter worth about $63,731,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 200.4% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs during the 2nd quarter worth about $44,120,000. Finally, Turiya Advisors Asia Ltd bought a new position in Cleveland-Cliffs during the 2nd quarter worth about $39,357,000. 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.

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