Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Iamgold (NYSE:IAG)

Key Points

• Unusually large call buying: Traders purchased 9,538 call options on IAG on Wednesday, a 196% increase versus the typical daily volume of 3,222 calls.
• Earnings beat and stock reaction: Iamgold reported Q1 EPS of $0.66 (vs. $0.52 est.) and $1.01B in revenue, and the stock rose $2.63 to $18.94 on the day.
• Analyst and ownership context: MarketBeat shows a consensus "Moderate Buy" with a $17.75 target, institutional investors own about 47% of the stock, and an insider recently sold shares.

Iamgold Corporation (NYSE:IAG - Get Free Report) TSE: IMG was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders acquired 9,538 call options on the company. This is an increase of 196% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,222 call options.

Iamgold Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:IAG traded up $2.63 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $18.94. 3,788,970 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,253,487. The company has a market cap of $10.98 billion, a PE ratio of 16.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $19.46 and a 200 day moving average of $17.44. Iamgold has a 52-week low of $6.06 and a 52-week high of $24.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Iamgold (NYSE:IAG - Get Free Report) TSE: IMG last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The mining company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.14. Iamgold had a return on equity of 19.26% and a net margin of 23.29%.The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $950.63 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Iamgold will post 2.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Iamgold news, Director David Stewart Smith sold 31,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.87, for a total transaction of $1,018,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $657,400. The trade was a 60.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IAG. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Iamgold by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,917,300 shares of the mining company's stock worth $64,645,000 after purchasing an additional 408,800 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its stake in shares of Iamgold by 28.5% in the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 587,920 shares of the mining company's stock worth $7,602,000 after purchasing an additional 130,400 shares during the last quarter. Waratah Capital Advisors Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Iamgold by 731.8% in the third quarter. Waratah Capital Advisors Ltd. now owns 2,113,558 shares of the mining company's stock worth $27,328,000 after purchasing an additional 1,859,463 shares during the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Iamgold in the third quarter worth about $96,747,000. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its stake in shares of Iamgold by 381.0% in the third quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 393,280 shares of the mining company's stock worth $5,084,000 after purchasing an additional 311,510 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.08% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on IAG shares. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Iamgold to $25.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Iamgold in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Iamgold in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen raised Iamgold from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Iamgold from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Iamgold has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $17.75.

About Iamgold

IAMGOLD Corporation, founded in 1990 and headquartered in Toronto, is a mid-tier gold producer engaged in the exploration, development and operation of gold mining assets. The company’s primary focus is on the discovery and extraction of gold, with a portfolio that spans both operating mines and advanced development projects. IAMGOLD combines in-house technical expertise with strategic partnerships to advance projects from exploration through to production.

The company’s principal producing assets include the Essakane gold mine in Burkina Faso, which began commercial production in 2010, and the Westwood underground gold mine in Quebec’s Abitibi region.

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