Glj Research Upgrades Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) to “Buy”

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) was upgraded by stock analysts at Glj Research from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $15.60 target price on the mining company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $15.01. Glj Research’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 30.71% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $10.00 target price on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup restated a “positive” rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $12.50 price target (up from $12.00) on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Cleveland-Cliffs from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cleveland-Cliffs currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.86.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Up 8.9%

Shares of NYSE CLF opened at $11.94 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $11.29 and its 200 day moving average is $11.03. Cleveland-Cliffs has a 52 week low of $7.73 and a 52 week high of $16.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a market cap of $6.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.37 and a beta of 2.13.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The mining company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative net margin of 4.56% and a negative return on equity of 13.37%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.50) EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Cleveland-Cliffs will post -0.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Cleveland-Cliffs

In other Cleveland-Cliffs news, EVP Celso L. Goncalves, Jr. sold 214,308 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.41, for a total value of $2,873,870.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 184,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,474,708.22. This represents a 53.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cleveland-Cliffs

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,391,397 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $722,318,000 after buying an additional 6,447,462 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Cleveland-Cliffs by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,278,156 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $388,814,000 after buying an additional 3,632,150 shares in the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP lifted its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 572.4% in the fourth quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 18,083,029 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $240,143,000 after buying an additional 15,393,507 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 6.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,489,207 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $130,873,000 after buying an additional 925,031 shares during the period. Finally, Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. boosted its position in Cleveland-Cliffs by 90.1% during the 4th quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 12,358,230 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $164,117,000 after acquiring an additional 5,855,830 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.68% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Cleveland-Cliffs

Here are the key news stories impacting Cleveland-Cliffs this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Cleveland-Cliffs posted Q2 results that beat expectations on both earnings and revenue, helped by stronger steel pricing that improved margins even as shipment volumes declined. CLF Q2 Earnings and Sales Beat Estimates on Higher Steel Pricing
• Positive Sentiment: The company reported a sharp jump in adjusted EBITDA, returned to positive free cash flow, and gave a notably optimistic outlook, with investors focusing on the prospect of stronger profitability ahead. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc (CLF) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong EBITDA Growth and Positive …
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts turned more constructive, including Glj Research upgrading the stock to buy and lifting its price target, which added to the bullish sentiment around the name. Cleveland-Cliffs upgraded by Glj Research
• Positive Sentiment: Trading activity was also supportive, with reports of unusual call-option buying and multiple articles highlighting CLF as a momentum stock with value appeal.
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target but kept an “equal weight” rating, suggesting some upside remains but not a full endorsement of the rally. Wells Fargo price target raised on CLF
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also announced a leadership change, promoting CFO Celso Goncalves to President and CFO, which is more of a governance update than a direct earnings driver. Cleveland-Cliffs Announces Promotion of Chief Financial Officer
• Negative Sentiment: Not all analyst commentary was supportive: one report said brokerage consensus remains “Reduce,” and another noted Wells Fargo’s new target is still below the current share price, reflecting lingering skepticism about the stock’s valuation and durability of the rebound.

Cleveland-Cliffs Company Profile

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc is a leading North American producer of iron ore pellets and flat-rolled steel products. Tracing its roots to 1847, the company has evolved from an iron-ore mining concern in the Great Lakes region into a fully integrated steelmaker. Today, Cleveland-Cliffs operates iron ore mining complexes in Michigan and Minnesota as well as steelmaking and finishing facilities across the United States.

The company’s integrated platform begins with direct control of key raw materials, including iron ore and scrap, and extends through every stage of steel production.