First Quantum Minerals (OTCMKTS:FQVLF) Sees Large Volume Increase – Should You Buy?

Shares of First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (OTCMKTS:FQVLF) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 699,678 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 101% from the previous session’s volume of 348,174 shares.The stock last traded at $27.63 and had previously closed at $27.7407.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on FQVLF. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of First Quantum Minerals in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of First Quantum Minerals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of First Quantum Minerals in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Scotiabank raised First Quantum Minerals from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised First Quantum Minerals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

First Quantum Minerals Trading Down 3.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.50. The stock has a market cap of $22.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -671.50 and a beta of 1.32.

First Quantum Minerals (OTCMKTS:FQVLF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. First Quantum Minerals had a positive return on equity of 0.07% and a negative net margin of 0.53%. On average, analysts expect that First Quantum Minerals Ltd. will post 0.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About First Quantum Minerals

First Quantum Minerals Ltd. is a Canada-based mining company principally engaged in the exploration, development, production and marketing of copper and other mineral commodities. Headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, the company develops and operates large-scale open-pit and underground mines and associated processing facilities. Its activities span the full value chain from exploration and feasibility studies through to mining, milling and the sale of concentrates and refined metals to global customers.

Copper is the company’s primary product, produced alongside by-products such as gold, nickel, zinc and cobalt depending on the orebody.