Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Cameco Put Options (NYSE:CCJ)

Key Points

• Traders purchased an unusually large number of puts — 28,210 put options, roughly a 942% jump versus typical daily put volume — signaling heavy bearish bets or hedging activity on CCJ.
• Separately, Cameco recently beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates and has seen multiple price‑target upgrades, leaving a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average target of $150.40 while the stock trades around $112.

Cameco Corporation (NYSE:CCJ - Get Free Report) TSE: CCO was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Traders acquired 28,210 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 942% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,706 put options.

Cameco Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of CCJ stock opened at $112.52 on Friday. Cameco has a 1 year low of $35.00 and a 1 year high of $135.24. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $115.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $100.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 116.00 and a beta of 1.02.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ - Get Free Report) TSE: CCO last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $874.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $782.13 million. Cameco had a return on equity of 9.35% and a net margin of 17.00%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.36 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Cameco will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CCJ. Glj Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $171.20 target price (up from $100.00) on shares of Cameco in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce boosted their price target on shares of Cameco to $202.00 in a report on Monday, March 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and set a $147.00 price target on shares of Cameco in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Cameco from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Cameco from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cameco presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $150.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cameco

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cameco by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,059,335 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,653,639,000 after acquiring an additional 258,193 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Cameco by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,545,354 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,240,047,000 after acquiring an additional 41,430 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Cameco by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,973,799 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,089,080,000 after acquiring an additional 85,762 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its stake in Cameco by 41.4% in the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 7,076,815 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $524,988,000 after purchasing an additional 2,071,373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Cameco by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,292,995 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $575,771,000 after purchasing an additional 849,188 shares in the last quarter. 70.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cameco Company Profile

Cameco Corporation NYSE: CCJ is a leading producer of uranium and a supplier to the global nuclear power industry. Headquartered in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, the company is engaged in the exploration, mining, milling and sale of uranium concentrate, commonly known as yellowcake, which is used as fuel for nuclear reactors. Cameco also participates in services and activities that support the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle, including processing and marketing of uranium to utilities under long‑term and spot contracts.

The company's operations have historically centered in Canada and the United States, where it operates and develops uranium mining and processing properties.

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