Wall Street Zen Downgrades Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) to Hold

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on FCX. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. HSBC lifted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. CICC Research increased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $50.40 to $64.40 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.26.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:FCX opened at $62.82 on Friday. Freeport-McMoRan has a fifty-two week low of $27.66 and a fifty-two week high of $69.44. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $55.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $90.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.47.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.19. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The company had revenue of $5.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Freeport-McMoRan

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 28,423 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.99, for a total transaction of $1,364,019.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 105,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,053,059.06. The trade was a 21.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 9,572 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.66, for a total value of $456,201.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 38,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,847,349.26. This represents a 19.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 513,986 shares of company stock worth $32,124,432. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 130,332,957 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $6,619,611,000 after acquiring an additional 1,572,769 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew 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 buying an additional 622,343 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 62,873,136 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $3,193,327,000 after buying an additional 395,226 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 37,353,852 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,897,202,000 after acquiring an additional 8,891,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 190.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 23,950,557 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Freeport-McMoRan

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

• Positive Sentiment: BNP Paribas Exane raised its price target on FCX to $75 (from $56) and kept an “outperform” rating — a sizeable lift to upside expectations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Argus upgraded FCX from “hold” to “buy,” reinforcing buy-side momentum and contributing to short‑term demand. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Other broker actions (Stifel raised its target to $76; UBS, Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley have recently lifted targets) add to the analyst-driven narrative supporting higher valuations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks and other research outlets highlight rising earnings-estimate revisions and momentum characteristics for FCX, which can justify multiple expansion if commodity prices and volumes cooperate. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Increased media and analyst attention (multiple Zacks pieces, MSN/Yahoo coverage) is amplifying flows into FCX but is informational rather than a direct operational catalyst. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Grasberg production setbacks materially reduced Q4 copper/gold volumes, a real operational headwind that can limit near-term revenue despite stronger prices. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider sales: Chairman Richard Adkerson disclosed multi-hundred-thousand‑share disposals (Feb. 10–11 filings) totaling tens of millions of dollars — these trades can sap sentiment even if explained by diversification or tax planning. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: EVP Douglas Currault II sold 75,000 shares (~$4.8M); insider selling at the executive level is a nearer-term negative for perception of internal conviction. Read More.

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.