Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Stock Price Down 5.3% on Insider Selling

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) was down 5.3% on Thursday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $61.25 and last traded at $62.0050. Approximately 23,437,402 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 1% from the average daily volume of 23,766,377 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.46.

Specifically, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 75,000 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.52, for a total transaction of $4,839,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 219,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,141,558.12. The trade was a 25.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Richard C. Adkerson sold 152,960 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.65, for a total value of $9,888,864.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 3,356,159 shares in the company, valued at $216,975,679.35. This represents a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In related news, Chairman Richard C. Adkerson sold 248,031 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.80, for a total transaction of $15,576,346.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 3,509,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $220,372,673.20. The trade was a 6.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on FCX. Clarkson Capital raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $46.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.35.

Trending Headlines about Freeport-McMoRan

Here are the key news stories impacting Freeport-McMoRan this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus raised its price target on FCX to $76 and kept a “buy” rating, signaling fresh analyst conviction and upside potential that can support the stock. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlights that recent upward revisions to Freeport’s earnings estimates (surging estimates) create near‑term upside potential and help justify higher multiples. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks also profiles FCX as a momentum/long‑term idea — increased coverage and momentum narratives can attract flows into the shares. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary asks whether it’s “too late” to buy after a large one‑year rally — useful for framing risk/reward but not a direct catalyst. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks reports Grasberg setbacks led to a sharp Q4 volume decline, cutting copper and gold sales despite higher realized prices — an operational headwind that can pressure near‑term revenue and investor sentiment. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Chairman Richard Adkerson sold large blocks over Feb. 10–11 (combined millions of dollars), which can sap sentiment and raise short‑term selling pressure. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: EVP Douglas Currault II sold 75,000 shares (~$4.84M) on Feb. 11; while insiders still hold sizable stakes, the sales add to near‑term supply concerns. Read More.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $89.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.47. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.19. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 8.50%.The firm had revenue of $5.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 15th were given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.87%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 130,332,957 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $6,619,611,000 after buying an additional 1,572,769 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 63,880,757 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $3,244,504,000 after purchasing an additional 622,343 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 62,477,910 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $2,450,384,000 after purchasing an additional 690,736 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 37,353,852 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,897,202,000 after purchasing an additional 8,891,743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 190.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,494,793 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,431,326,000 after purchasing an additional 23,950,557 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

Freeport-McMoRan Inc is a U.S.-based natural resources company primarily engaged in the exploration, mining and processing of copper, gold and molybdenum. Its operations encompass large-scale open-pit and underground mining as well as associated concentrator and milling facilities. The company produces copper in the form of concentrates and cathodes, and also recovers gold and molybdenum as co-products; its business model includes exploration, development, mining, beneficiation and the sale of bulk commodities to smelters and industrial customers.

Freeport-McMoRan conducts operations and development activities across multiple geographies, with substantial assets in the Americas and Indonesia.