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

Cameco Corporation (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Investors bought 384,705 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,490% compared to the average volume of 24,198 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on CCJ. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Cameco in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Cameco from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Cameco from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded Cameco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce increased their target price on shares of Cameco to $202.00 in a report on Monday, March 9th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cameco has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $150.40.

Cameco Stock Down 4.1%

Shares of CCJ opened at $104.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.47. Cameco has a 52 week low of $35.00 and a 52 week high of $135.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 107.84 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $116.66 and a 200-day moving average of $99.55.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.07. Cameco had a return on equity of 9.35% and a net margin of 17.00%.The company had revenue of $874.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $782.13 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.36 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cameco will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cameco

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CCJ. Bison Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Cameco by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 21,448 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,102,000 after acquiring an additional 2,975 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Cameco by 16.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,547 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $393,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Cameco by 48.7% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 8,485 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 2,780 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Cameco by 11.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 604,841 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $24,895,000 after purchasing an additional 64,512 shares during the period. Finally, NewGen Equity Long Short Fund acquired a new stake in Cameco in the second quarter worth $14,252,000. Institutional investors own 70.21% of the company’s stock.

About Cameco

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.