Ero Copper Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:ERO)

Ero Copper Corp. (NYSE:ERO) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock traders purchased 10,680 call options on the company. This is an increase of 329% compared to the typical volume of 2,490 call options.

Ero Copper Trading Up 5.0%

Shares of NYSE:ERO traded up $1.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $25.38. The stock had a trading volume of 1,470,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 683,158. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.09. Ero Copper has a twelve month low of $9.30 and a twelve month high of $25.78. The firm has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a PE ratio of 18.51 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Ero Copper (NYSE:ERO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $177.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.30 million. Ero Copper had a net margin of 26.63% and a return on equity of 17.96%. On average, research analysts predict that Ero Copper will post 0.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ero Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Ero Copper in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. TD Securities cut shares of Ero Copper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. National Bankshares reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Ero Copper in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ero Copper in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.00.

Institutional Trading of Ero Copper

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. raised its stake in Ero Copper by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 8,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 1,483 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of Ero Copper in the third quarter worth about $111,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ero Copper in the first quarter worth about $180,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ero Copper during the first quarter worth about $188,000. Finally, Shay Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ero Copper during the 3rd quarter valued at about $202,000. Institutional investors own 71.30% of the company’s stock.

About Ero Copper

Ero Copper Corp. engages in the exploration, development, and production of mining projects in Brazil. The company is involved in the production and sale of copper concentrate from the Caraíba operations located in the Curaçá Valley, northeastern Bahia state, Brazil, as well as gold and silver by-products.