Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Short Interest Update

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 28,027,039 shares, an increase of 35.2% from the November 30th total of 20,725,394 shares. Approximately 2.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 16,211,640 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days. Based on an average trading volume of 16,211,640 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days. Approximately 2.0% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Key Freeport-McMoRan News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Raymond James raised its price target on FCX to $53 and kept an “outperform” rating, signaling analyst confidence in upside vs. the current level. MarketScreener
• Positive Sentiment: Macro/metal commentary suggests continued strength in precious metals (silver) after big 2025 gains — a supportive backdrop for miners and refiners including FCX. 247WallSt: Silver 10x’d the S&P 500
• Positive Sentiment: Sector piece highlights surging gold, silver and copper and lists ways investors can get exposure — a tailwind for Freeport given its copper and gold production. MarketBeat: Gold, Silver, and Copper Are Surging
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms have filed or are soliciting lead?plaintiff applicants in a securities class action against Freeport covering purchases from Feb. 15, 2022 to Sept. 24, 2025, with a Jan. 12, 2026 deadline to seek lead?plaintiff status — creating legal uncertainty and a potential financial/liability overhang. Representative notices: Faruqi & Faruqi PR Rosen Law Firm Glancy Prongay & Murray The Gross Law Firm

Insider Transactions at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 9,572 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.66, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 19.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 28,423 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.99, for a total value of $1,364,019.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 105,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,053,059.06. The trade was a 21.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Freeport-McMoRan

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Portside Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.8% during the second quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 30,333 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.6% during the second quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 45,133 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,957,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 45,095 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,769,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Waterloo Capital L.P. raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 6,658 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mengis Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 34,404 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,349,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FCX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America raised Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $53.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Scotiabank raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $51.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $58.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $49.87.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of FCX traded down $0.62 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $50.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,774,545 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,717,104. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $44.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.93 billion, a PE ratio of 35.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.45. Freeport-McMoRan has a one year low of $27.66 and a one year high of $53.76.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.09. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 7.84%. The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 15th will be paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.13%.

About Freeport-McMoRan

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.