Traders Purchase High Volume of Freeport-McMoRan Call Options (NYSE:FCX)

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 174,970 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 65% compared to the typical daily volume of 105,981 call options.

Key Stories Impacting Freeport-McMoRan

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat — Freeport reported adjusted EPS of $0.47, well above expectations, and solid revenue that confirmed margin leverage to higher copper prices. Inside Freeport’s Latest Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Copper price rally — Supply disruptions in South America, China stimulus and accelerating EV/renewables demand are pushing copper higher, which benefits pure‑play producers like Freeport. 3 Top Copper Stocks to Watch as Copper Prices Skyrocket: BHP, FCX, SCCO
• Positive Sentiment: Structural demand theme — Analysts and market research highlight an AI‑driven scarcity premium for copper, reinforcing a multi‑year bull case for miners. Digging Into Demand: Copper’s Scarcity Premium Is Rising
• Positive Sentiment: Valuation upside flagged — A valuation piece suggests intrinsic value materially above current share price, supporting longer‑term upside. Freeport-McMoRan Inc.’s (NYSE:FCX) Intrinsic Value Is Potentially 74% Above Its Share Price
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large call activity — Traders bought ~175k call contracts, signaling bullish positioning or hedged speculation that can amplify moves higher if sentiment flips.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary roundup — Market notes and analyst insights on Freeport and peers provide mixed views on cost structure, growth projects and commodity exposure. Analysts Offer Insights on Materials Companies: Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) and Albemarle (ALB)
• Negative Sentiment: Operational uncertainty at Grasberg — Ongoing restart plans and recent disruptions keep production risk on the table, a headline risk that can trigger volatility. Freeport Beats Profit Views As Grasberg Restart Plan Refocuses Investor Debate
• Negative Sentiment: Profit‑taking and technical selling — After hitting all‑time highs, the stock drew selling pressure and high intraday volume, which can magnify a pullback even with positive fundamentals. Freeport McMoRan stock hits all-time high at 68.94 USD

Insider Transactions at Freeport-McMoRan

In other news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 28,423 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 105,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,053,059.06. The trade was a 21.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 9,572 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 38,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,847,349.26. This trade represents a 19.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 130,332,957 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $6,619,611,000 after acquiring an additional 1,572,769 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.4% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 63,258,414 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $2,480,995,000 after purchasing an additional 899,699 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 62,477,910 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $2,450,384,000 after purchasing an additional 690,736 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 190.9% in the third 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 during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.1% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 21,671,223 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $849,945,000 after purchasing an additional 435,963 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FCX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Freeport-McMoRan presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.40.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Down 7.6%

Shares of NYSE:FCX opened at $60.20 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.87, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.45. Freeport-McMoRan has a 1 year low of $27.66 and a 1 year high of $69.44. 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 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 firm had revenue of $5.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.31 earnings per share. Freeport-McMoRan’s revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 15th will be issued a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.87%.

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.