Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Cameco (NYSE:CCJ)

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ - Get Free Report) TSE: CCO was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 28,210 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 942% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,706 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on CCJ shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Cameco from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Desjardins assumed coverage on shares of Cameco in a research note on Friday, April 4th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Cameco in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Cameco in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Cameco in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $52.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cameco has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $70.03.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cameco

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Cameco during the third quarter worth $38,000. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in Cameco by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 25,396 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,213,000 after buying an additional 2,142 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Cameco by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 128,137 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $6,120,000 after buying an additional 13,901 shares during the last quarter. Dantai Capital Ltd increased its holdings in Cameco by 44.2% during the third quarter. Dantai Capital Ltd now owns 57,260 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,735,000 after buying an additional 17,560 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cameco by 1,138.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 267,431 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $12,774,000 after buying an additional 245,831 shares during the last quarter. 70.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cameco Stock Performance

CCJ traded down $0.61 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $46.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,690,956 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,065,730. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.20 billion, a PE ratio of 165.71 and a beta of 1.04. Cameco has a fifty-two week low of $35.00 and a fifty-two week high of $62.55.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ - Get Free Report) TSE: CCO last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $549.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $890.07 million. Cameco had a return on equity of 4.34% and a net margin of 5.39%. The business's revenue was up 24.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cameco will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Cameco Company Profile

Cameco Corporation provides uranium for the generation of electricity. It operates through Uranium, Fuel Services, Westinghouse segments. The Uranium segment is involved in the exploration for, mining, and milling, purchase, and sale of uranium concentrate. The Fuel Services segment engages in the refining, conversion, and fabrication of uranium concentrate, as well as the purchase and sale of conversion services.