Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on Cameco (NYSE:CCJ)

Cameco Corporation (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Traders acquired 384,705 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 1,490% compared to the typical daily volume of 24,198 call options.

Institutional Trading of Cameco

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Abbington Investment Group bought a new position in Cameco in the third quarter valued at approximately $6,506,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Cameco by 79.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 249,992 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $20,964,000 after purchasing an additional 110,629 shares in the last quarter. NWF Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cameco in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,996,000. Thames Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cameco by 66.8% in the third quarter. Thames Capital Management LLC now owns 107,062 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,978,000 after buying an additional 42,879 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Cameco by 7.9% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,755,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $231,102,000 after buying an additional 202,279 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Securities lowered Cameco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Cameco from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Glj Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $171.20 target price (up from $100.00) on shares of Cameco in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Cameco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, William Blair started coverage on shares of Cameco in a report on Monday. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.40.

Cameco Stock Performance

Shares of Cameco stock opened at $123.68 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $53.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 127.51 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $114.47 and its 200-day moving average is $104.03. Cameco has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $135.24.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $874.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $782.13 million. Cameco had a return on equity of 9.35% and a net margin of 17.00%.During the same period last year, the company earned $0.36 earnings per share. Cameco’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Cameco will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.