Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Shares Down 2.4% After Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Shares fell 2.4% mid-day after BNP Paribas Exane trimmed its price target to $71 (while keeping an Outperform rating); the stock traded as low as $56.59 and last at $56.83 on volume about 42% below average.
• Analyst views are mixed—Goldman and CICC cut targets while UBS raised theirs—yet the stock carries a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with an average target of $65.19.
• Fundamentals remain solid with an earnings beat (EPS $0.57 vs. $0.47 and revenue $6.23B), but insiders sold heavily last quarter (565,145 shares worth roughly $35.8M), which could weigh on sentiment.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) fell 2.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price target on the stock from $75.00 to $71.00. BNP Paribas Exane currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Freeport-McMoRan traded as low as $56.59 and last traded at $56.83. 11,420,575 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 42% from the average session volume of 19,790,266 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.21.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 target price on Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. CICC Research cut their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $64.40 to $63.40 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $66.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 11,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.03, for a total value of $682,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 40,773 shares in the company, valued at $2,529,149.19. The trade was a 21.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Maree E. Robertson sold 48,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.55, for a total transaction of $2,985,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 79,894 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,917,475.70. This trade represents a 37.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 565,145 shares of company stock valued at $35,839,918. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Freeport-McMoRan

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

• Positive Sentiment: High investor attention — Zacks (and Yahoo Finance pick‑ups) note heavy recent search/interest in FCX, which can support trading momentum and liquidity as investors reassess the copper/metal cycle. Investors Heavily Search Freeport‑McMoRan
• Positive Sentiment: Long‑term bullish coverage — a recent feature argues FCX remains a top long‑term growth name in mining/copper, reinforcing investor narratives around secular copper demand that can buoy the stock despite short‑term weakness. Why Freeport‑McMoRan is a top growth stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector exploration news from juniors — recent drill results from C3 Metals (Peru) and MAX Resource expand copper discovery headlines, but these are small/early projects and unlikely to materially alter Freeport’s fundamentals; they mainly affect broader copper sentiment. C3 Metals drill results MAX Resource channel results
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst price‑target trims — BNP Paribas Exane cut its target to $71 (still Outperform) and CICC trimmed to $63.40 (still Outperform). Those downward adjustments, even with maintained ratings, can apply near‑term selling pressure as they reduce upside expectations for some institutional holders. BNP Paribas adjusts price target CICC adjusts price target

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 7.9% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 2,011 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Steph & Co. grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 43.7% during the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 493 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Essex Bank grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.2% during the first quarter. Essex Bank now owns 14,104 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $829,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Leo Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Leo Wealth LLC now owns 6,838 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.9% during the first quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 18,674 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $1,098,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 2.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The business's 50 day moving average is $62.37 and its 200 day moving average is $54.20. The stock has a market cap of $81.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.48.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.73 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The company's revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.24 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan's payout ratio is presently 15.96%.

About Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc is a U.S.-based natural resources company primarily engaged in the exploration, mining and processing of copper, gold and molybdenum. Its operations encompass large-scale open-pit and underground mining as well as associated concentrator and milling facilities. The company produces copper in the form of concentrates and cathodes, and also recovers gold and molybdenum as co-products; its business model includes exploration, development, mining, beneficiation and the sale of bulk commodities to smelters and industrial customers.

Freeport-McMoRan conducts operations and development activities across multiple geographies, with substantial assets in the Americas 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.