Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on CLF. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Cleveland-Cliffs from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $12.00 in a report on Friday, November 14th. UBS Group set a $15.00 target price on Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Monday, October 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Monday. KeyCorp downgraded Cleveland-Cliffs from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $12.80 to $17.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.89.

Cleveland-Cliffs Trading Down 3.8%

Shares of CLF stock opened at $10.36 on Friday. Cleveland-Cliffs has a 1-year low of $5.63 and a 1-year high of $16.70. The company has a market cap of $5.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.55 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.25.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The mining company reported ($0.43) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.62) by $0.19. Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative net margin of 7.91% and a negative return on equity of 18.94%. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.68) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Cleveland-Cliffs will post -0.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Cleveland-Cliffs

In other Cleveland-Cliffs news, CEO Lourenco Goncalves sold 3,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.42, for a total transaction of $37,260,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Edilson Camara purchased 19,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $10.13 per share, with a total value of $199,561.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 41,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $425,287.79. The trade was a 88.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 1.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cleveland-Cliffs

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,391,397 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $722,318,000 after buying an additional 6,447,462 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,278,156 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $388,814,000 after acquiring an additional 3,632,150 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,039,851 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $133,372,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286,042 shares during the period. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs during the second quarter worth about $63,731,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 17.5% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 8,010,913 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $97,733,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195,035 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.68% of the company’s stock.

Key Cleveland-Cliffs News

Here are the key news stories impacting Cleveland-Cliffs this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Director purchase: Cleveland‑Cliffs director Edilson Camara bought 19,700 shares (~$10.13 avg), increasing his stake materially — a signal of insider confidence that can support the stock. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity: traders bought ~53,775 CLF calls (≈6% above average call volume), indicating short‑term bullish positioning by some market participants. (Options volume report)
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS beat and management tone: the company narrowly beat EPS estimates and gave a constructive 2026 outlook (cost discipline, steady capex, modest shipment growth), which remains a potential upside driver if volumes/pricing recover. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and analysis pieces: several writeups examine CLF’s post‑2025 loss valuation and whether the share drop is overdone — useful for investors assessing risk/reward but not immediate catalysts. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Tariff‑rollback reports: media reports that the administration is considering rolling back steel/aluminum tariffs hit domestic steel names (Nucor, CLF, Alcoa), pressuring prices and investor sentiment for Cleveland‑Cliffs. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider sale: CEO Lourenco Goncalves sold 3,000,000 shares (~$37.3M at ~$12.42), a significant block that likely added to downward pressure and investor concern about timing/intent. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst and sentiment pressure: GLJ Research and other commentators have issued bearish takes or cut targets after the earnings/revenue miss; combined with ambiguity on the POSCO partnership, that reduced near‑term catalysts and amplified selling. Read More. Read More.

Cleveland-Cliffs Company Profile

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc is a leading North American producer of iron ore pellets and flat-rolled steel products. Tracing its roots to 1847, the company has evolved from an iron-ore mining concern in the Great Lakes region into a fully integrated steelmaker. Today, Cleveland-Cliffs operates iron ore mining complexes in Michigan and Minnesota as well as steelmaking and finishing facilities across the United States.

The company’s integrated platform begins with direct control of key raw materials, including iron ore and scrap, and extends through every stage of steel production.