BNP Paribas Exane Boosts Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Price Target to $75.00

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) had its target price hoisted by analysts at BNP Paribas Exane from $56.00 to $75.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the natural resource company’s stock. BNP Paribas Exane’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 21.54% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Clarkson Capital upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $46.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.26.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

NYSE:FCX opened at $61.71 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $88.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.47. Freeport-McMoRan has a fifty-two week low of $27.66 and a fifty-two week high of $69.44. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $55.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.68.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $5.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.42 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.31 EPS. Analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 9,572 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.66, for a total transaction of $456,201.52. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 38,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,847,349.26. The trade was a 19.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 28,423 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.99, for a total transaction of $1,364,019.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 105,294 shares in the company, valued at $5,053,059.06. This represents a 21.26% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 513,986 shares of company stock valued at $32,124,432 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FCX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 130,332,957 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $6,619,611,000 after buying an additional 1,572,769 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 63,880,757 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $3,244,504,000 after acquiring an additional 622,343 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 62,477,910 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $2,450,384,000 after acquiring an additional 690,736 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 37,353,852 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,897,202,000 after purchasing an additional 8,891,743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 190.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,494,793 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,431,326,000 after purchasing an additional 23,950,557 shares in the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Freeport-McMoRan News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Argus upgraded FCX from “hold” to “buy,” a near-term catalyst that can attract buyer interest. Finviz
• Positive Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus raised its price target to $76 and maintained a “buy”—the new target implies material upside vs. recent levels and reinforces broker confidence. BayStreet.CA
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks reports that earnings estimate revisions for FCX have trended higher (“surging estimates”), supporting the view that fundamentals and analyst expectations are improving. Surging Earnings Estimates Signal Upside
• Neutral Sentiment: Several media/analyst pieces are highlighting FCX as a momentum/value story, increasing retail and institutional attention (informational—may amplify moves but not a direct operational catalyst). Is It Too Late To Consider Freeport-McMoRan?
• Negative Sentiment: Grasberg-related operational setbacks reduced Q4 volumes, denting reported sales despite higher realized prices—this is a fundamental headwind for near-term revenue/volume. Grasberg Setbacks Weigh on FCX’s Q4 Volumes
• Negative Sentiment: Chairman Richard Adkerson sold 152,960 shares on Feb. 11 (~$64.65 avg), a large insider disposition that can sap sentiment even if not tied to company fundamentals. Adkerson Feb 11 SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Chairman Richard Adkerson also sold 248,031 shares on Feb. 10 (~$62.80 avg), a separate large block that increases selling-related pressure on the stock. Adkerson Feb 10 SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: EVP Douglas Currault II sold 75,000 shares (~$64.52 avg, ~$4.84M); while insiders still hold large positions, the sale is another near-term negative for sentiment. Douglas Currault II Sells 75,000 Shares

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.