McEwen (NYSE:MUX) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

McEwen Inc. (NYSE:MUX) (TSE:MUX) shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $16.42, but opened at $17.06. McEwen shares last traded at $17.52, with a volume of 458,201 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. HC Wainwright upped their price target on shares of McEwen from $15.50 to $17.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Roth Capital set a $19.00 price target on shares of McEwen and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of McEwen in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, National Bankshares reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of McEwen in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.17.

McEwen Stock Up 5.8%

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $12.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.05. The stock has a market cap of $940.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -69.51 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 1.82.

McEwen (NYSE:MUX) (TSE:MUX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.03). McEwen had a negative net margin of 8.05% and a negative return on equity of 2.76%. The company had revenue of $46.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.05 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that McEwen Inc. will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at McEwen

In related news, VP Jeffrey Chan sold 13,333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.89, for a total value of $198,528.37. Following the sale, the vice president owned 2,267 shares in the company, valued at $33,755.63. This represents a 85.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Richard W. Brissenden sold 11,203 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.89, for a total transaction of $166,812.67. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 9,405 shares in the company, valued at $140,040.45. This represents a 54.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 77,192 shares of company stock worth $1,110,702. 16.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McEwen

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MUX. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of McEwen by 74.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 115,080 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $895,000 after acquiring an additional 49,301 shares during the last quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of McEwen by 23.4% in the 1st quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 405,584 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,062,000 after acquiring an additional 76,972 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of McEwen by 41.9% in the 1st quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 729,515 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,508,000 after acquiring an additional 215,396 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of McEwen by 9,935.0% in the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 14,350 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 14,207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in McEwen by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 14,743 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 2,098 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 17.03% of the company’s stock.

McEwen Company Profile

McEwen Mining Inc engages in the exploration, development, production, and sale of gold and silver. It also explores for copper deposits. The company owns 100% interests in the El Gallo and Fenix projects located in Mexico; and the Black Fox Mine and Stock Mill, Grey Fox, and Froome and Tamarack properties in Canada.