Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Stock Price Target Cut by Wells Fargo & Company

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) had its price target cut by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $87.00 to $79.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the natural resource company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 20.58% from the company’s previous close.

FCX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 19th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Erste Group Bank assumed coverage on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.87.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FCX traded down $0.43 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $65.52. The stock had a trading volume of 849,688 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,872,694. Freeport-McMoRan has a 1-year low of $38.54 and a 1-year high of $80.24. The stock has a market cap of $94.08 billion, a PE ratio of 32.31 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $71.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.11.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The natural resource company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $7.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.36 billion. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 4,773 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $334,110.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 36,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,520,000. The trade was a 11.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 14,277 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $992,251.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 54,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,795,951. This trade represents a 20.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 110,398 shares of company stock worth $8,387,271 over the last quarter. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FCX. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co boosted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.3% during the third quarter. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co now owns 12,177 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $852,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 11.6% during the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,539 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Breakwater Capital Group raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 15,930 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $1,115,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Signature Wealth Management Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Signature Wealth Management Partners LLC now owns 12,271 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $859,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 6,788 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. 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: Q3 earnings and revenue exceeded expectations. Freeport-McMoRan reported adjusted earnings of $0.88 per share, above the $0.82 consensus estimate, while revenue increased 8.2% year over year to $7.55 billion versus expectations of $7.36 billion. Net income rose to approximately $1.2 billion from $674 million a year earlier. Freeport-McMoRan Q3 Net Income Rises
• Positive Sentiment: Commodity prices provided a powerful earnings tailwind. Copper prices were reported to be roughly 40% higher than a year ago, while stronger molybdenum and gold pricing helped offset weaker sales volumes. The results delivered a 10% earnings surprise and a 6.48% revenue surprise. FCX Q3 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Potential molybdenum expansion could support future production. Management is evaluating ways to increase molybdenum supply from its Colorado mine, which could provide additional exposure to strong pricing and improve longer-term output. Freeport-McMoRan Weighs Boosting Molybdenum Supply
• Neutral Sentiment: Management highlighted a constructive copper outlook. Executives warned that global copper supply may struggle to meet rising demand, a long-term positive for FCX, but the benefit depends on sustained prices and successful execution. Freeport-McMoRan Chairman Discusses Tight Copper Supplies
• Negative Sentiment: Production and cost pressures remain important risks. Indonesian operations recorded lower production and sales volumes, costs increased, and gold sales declined sharply. These factors could limit the benefit of elevated metal prices if operational disruptions persist. Freeport Tops Profit Estimates as Grasberg Recovery Continues
• Negative Sentiment: Freeport lost a Colombia exploration opportunity. A local miner outbid the company for a Colombian exploration project, reducing a potential avenue for future resource growth. Local Miner Outbids Freeport for Colombia Exploration

About Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc (NYSE: FCX) is a global mining company primarily engaged in the exploration, development, and production of copper. Copper is used extensively in electrical wiring, construction, transportation, renewable energy systems, and other industrial applications. The company also produces gold and molybdenum, a metal used in steelmaking and other industrial processes, as well as certain other byproducts.

Freeport-McMoRan operates a portfolio of mining and processing assets in North America, South America, and Indonesia.