Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Ero Copper Call Options (NYSE:ERO)

Key Points

• Traders made a significant move in Ero Copper Corp. by purchasing 17,970 call options, marking an increase of approximately 1,211% compared to average volumes.
• Institutional ownership is strong, with about 71.30% of the stock held by institutional investors and hedge funds, reflecting increasing confidence in Ero Copper.
• Ero Copper reported $0.46 earnings per share in its last earnings report, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.33, although revenue fell short of expectations at $163.50 million.

Ero Copper Corp. (NYSE:ERO - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Traders purchased 17,970 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,211% compared to the average volume of 1,371 call options.

Institutional Trading of Ero Copper

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ERO. Acuitas Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Ero Copper in the first quarter valued at about $39,000. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. boosted its stake in Ero Copper by 22.6% in the first quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 8,033 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 1,483 shares in the last quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Ero Copper in the first quarter valued at about $176,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Ero Copper in the first quarter valued at about $180,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Ero Copper in the first quarter valued at about $188,000. 71.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ero Copper Stock Performance

ERO stock traded up $0.62 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $23.33. 698,039 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 633,310. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.11 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.78. Ero Copper has a 12 month low of $9.30 and a 12 month high of $24.02.

Ero Copper (NYSE:ERO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $163.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $263.23 million. Ero Copper had a return on equity of 17.96% and a net margin of 26.63%. On average, analysts forecast that Ero Copper will post 0.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ERO shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Ero Copper in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ero Copper in a research report on Friday. National Bankshares reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Ero Copper in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Cibc World Mkts lowered Ero Copper from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, National Bank Financial lowered Ero Copper from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ero Copper presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $19.00.

About Ero Copper

Ero Copper Corp. engages in the exploration, development, and production of mining projects in Brazil. The company is involved in the production and sale of copper concentrate from the Caraíba operations located in the Curaçá Valley, northeastern Bahia state, Brazil, as well as gold and silver by-products.

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