BMO Capital Markets Upgrades First Quantum Minerals (TSE:FM) to "Strong-Buy"

First Quantum Minerals (TSE:FM - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at BMO Capital Markets to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, April 15th,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of First Quantum Minerals from C$22.00 to C$21.50 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of First Quantum Minerals from C$20.00 to C$21.00 in a report on Friday, April 4th. Barclays decreased their target price on First Quantum Minerals from C$25.00 to C$23.40 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. National Bankshares cut their price target on First Quantum Minerals from C$25.50 to C$24.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on First Quantum Minerals from C$18.00 to C$17.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, First Quantum Minerals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of C$21.77.

First Quantum Minerals Trading Up 5.2 %

Shares of FM traded up C$0.83 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching C$16.83. 871,879 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,694,011. First Quantum Minerals has a 12 month low of C$13.81 and a 12 month high of C$23.28. The company's fifty day moving average price is C$18.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$18.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 56.41. The company has a market capitalization of C$9.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -1.28 and a beta of 1.73.

First Quantum Minerals (TSE:FM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported C$0.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of C$0.03 by C$0.01. First Quantum Minerals had a negative return on equity of 14.05% and a negative net margin of 32.41%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.37) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that First Quantum Minerals will post 0.55872 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other First Quantum Minerals news, Senior Officer Zenon Wozniak sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$21.11, for a total transaction of C$844,400.00. Also, Director Alison Cheryl Beckett purchased 1,388 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of C$19.25 per share, for a total transaction of C$26,719.00. Insiders own 19.35% of the company's stock.

About First Quantum Minerals

First Quantum Minerals Ltd is a diversified mining company. The company's principal activities include mineral exploration, mine engineering and construction, and development and mining operations. The firm produces copper in concentrate, copper anode, copper cathode, nickel, gold, zinc, silver, acid, and pyrite.