Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

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

FCX has been the subject of a number of other reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Clarkson Capital raised Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $46.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, CICC Research lifted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $50.40 to $64.40 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.26.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $62.82 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $90.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.47. Freeport-McMoRan has a one year low of $27.66 and a one year high of $69.44. The business has a fifty day moving average of $55.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 2.29.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The business had revenue of $5.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 219,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,141,558.12. This represents a 25.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 28,423 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.99, for a total value of $1,364,019.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 105,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,053,059.06. This represents a 21.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 513,986 shares of company stock worth $32,124,432. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 1,551,258 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $60,840,000 after acquiring an additional 115,285 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 11.8% during the second quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 215,058 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $9,323,000 after purchasing an additional 22,766 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 278.4% in the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 46,157 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 33,959 shares during the period. Arrow Capital Pty Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 88.5% in the second quarter. Arrow Capital Pty Ltd now owns 113,100 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $4,903,000 after buying an additional 53,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 383,488 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $15,213,000 after buying an additional 20,586 shares during the period. 80.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about 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.