Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Raised to “Buy” at Argus

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) was upgraded by analysts at Argus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Friday,Finviz reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. HSBC lifted their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $53.50 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $70.00 target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Clarkson Capital raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $46.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.35.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 5.3%

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock opened at $62.01 on Friday. 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 current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $55.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.68. The company has a market capitalization of $89.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.47.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $5.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.31 earnings per share. Freeport-McMoRan’s revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Freeport-McMoRan

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 75,000 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.52, for a total value of $4,839,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 219,181 shares in the company, valued at $14,141,558.12. This trade represents a 25.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Richard C. Adkerson sold 248,031 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.80, for a total transaction of $15,576,346.80. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 3,509,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $220,372,673.20. This represents a 6.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 513,986 shares of company stock worth $32,124,432. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 24.2% during the fourth 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 lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 9,616 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan during the 2nd quarter worth about $560,000. MGO One Seven LLC grew its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 21,917 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $950,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Freeport-McMoRan by 20.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 38,726 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,679,000 after purchasing an additional 6,707 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus raised its price target on FCX from $52 to $76 and kept a “buy” rating — a meaningful upgrade that reinforces upside expectations and likely supported buying interest. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlights that analysts have been raising earnings estimates for Freeport, suggesting upward earnings momentum that can justify higher valuations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage and at least one analyst upgrade earlier this week pushed the stock higher intraday (reports noted a ~3.4% move on an upgrade), showing broker conviction can drive near-term gains. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary asks whether the stock is still attractive after a large one‑year rally (~75%), a framing piece for investors debating buy vs. profit‑taking. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several momentum/strategy pieces highlight FCX as a long‑term momentum name, increasing visibility but not serving as a direct catalyst. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Chairman Richard Adkerson executed large share sales (including a 248,031‑share block reported Feb. 10 and further sales on Feb. 11); sizeable insider dispositions often trigger short‑term selling pressure. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: EVP Douglas Currault II sold 75,000 shares (~$4.84M), disclosed in SEC filings; another material insider sale that can amplify profit‑taking concerns. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks flags Grasberg operational setbacks that cut Q4 volumes (lower copper/gold shipments despite stronger realized prices), a production risk investors need to monitor. Read More.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

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.