Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Trading Up 2.8% After Analyst Upgrade

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)’s stock price rose 2.8% on Tuesday after CICC Research raised their price target on the stock from $50.40 to $64.40. CICC Research currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Freeport-McMoRan traded as high as $63.18 and last traded at $62.87. Approximately 19,857,076 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 12% from the average daily volume of 22,658,092 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.17.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on FCX. Clarkson Capital upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $46.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Bank of America upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Monday, January 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 value of $1,364,019.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 105,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,053,059.06. The trade was a 21.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 9,572 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.66, for a total value of $456,201.52. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 38,761 shares in the company, valued at $1,847,349.26. This represents a 19.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Freeport-McMoRan

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised targets and ratings, lifting near-term investor sentiment: Scotiabank bumped its target to $70 and kept an “outperform” stance; CICC raised its target to $64.40 with an “outperform” rating — both imply further upside versus recent levels. Scotiabank price-target raise
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations: FCX reported $0.47 adjusted EPS vs. $0.28 consensus and revenue topped estimates, showing strong cash-flow leverage to high copper prices — a primary driver of the rally. Q4 earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Sector tailwinds: MarketBeat and other coverage highlight structural demand for copper (electrification, AI/data centers) and company leaching technology that can expand recoverable supply — a bullish long-term narrative for a pure-play copper producer like Freeport. MarketBeat analysis on copper demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Options-market activity shows elevated positioning and interest from traders, which can amplify moves in either direction but does not itself change fundamentals. Watch open interest and put/call skew for short-term volatility signals. Options market piece
• Neutral Sentiment: Retail and momentum interest is high: Zacks notes FCX is trending and scores well on momentum/style screens — this can sustain flows but also increases sensitivity to sentiment shifts. Zacks momentum coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term copper price risk: some forecasters (and commentary in coverage) flag a potential pullback from recent record highs — copper expectations matter massively for FCX cash flow (company sensitivity cited in reports). If copper retreats, Freeport’s operating cash flow and valuation are vulnerable. Copper price outlook discussion
• Negative Sentiment: Production disruption and guidance: Grasberg’s mudslide/recovery reduced near-term output and Freeport lowered 2026 sales guidance (copper and gold), creating potential downside to volumes even as prices help margins; reopening timing remains a risk to meet future targets. Production and guidance details

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,807 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $564,000 after acquiring an additional 2,882 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 9,616 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Freeport-McMoRan during the second quarter worth approximately $560,000. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 101.6% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,937 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 976 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 6.6% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 31,834 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,380,000 after acquiring an additional 1,961 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.10. The company has a market capitalization of $90.28 billion, a PE ratio of 41.64, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.45.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.19. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 8.50%.The firm had revenue of $5.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is presently 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.