Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Trading Down 12.6% – Here’s What Happened

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)’s stock price dropped 12.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $61.00 and last traded at $61.4760. Approximately 38,702,107 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 93% from the average daily volume of 20,049,230 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.36.

Freeport-McMoRan News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations — FCX posted $0.57 EPS (vs. $0.47 consensus) and revenue above estimates, with profits aided by higher copper, gold and molybdenum prices. The earnings beat and commodity tailwinds are supportive for cash flow and valuation. FCX’s Q1 Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates on Higher Copper Prices
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts remain constructive — Deutsche Bank recently raised its price target to $72 (from $58) and other brokers have upbeat commentary pointing to recovery potential as Grasberg ramps. That supports the view of upside once production normalizes. Is Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) the Best Beginner Stock to Buy Right Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are reassessing valuation after a strong run — recent analyses highlight large YTD and 1‑year gains, prompting fresh valuation work as the stock digests both commodity strength and operational risk. Assessing Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) Valuation After Powerful Recent Share Price Momentum
• Negative Sentiment: Management cut 2026–27 copper sales outlook by ~300 million pounds due to slower Grasberg ramp — the guidance reduction is the primary driver of the stock selloff, reflecting lower future volumes even if prices remain strong. FCX Stock Dives On Copper Output Cut. These Stocks Are Rallying.
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: shares plunged after the production cut announcement and weaker near‑term output outlook tied to Grasberg recovery delays — this operational uncertainty is weighing more heavily than the quarterly beat. Freeport McMoRan falls as Grasberg delay cuts 2026 output outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Broad coverage emphasizes the production miss and lowered forecasts — outlets note lower copper/gold output following last year’s incident, reinforcing near‑term downside risk to volumes and guidance. Freeport-McMoRan beats first-quarter profit on higher copper prices (Reuters)

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FCX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $68.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $53.50 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.21.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Down 12.6%

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $88.35 billion, a PE ratio of 40.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.48.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.10. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The company had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.24 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is currently 19.87%.

Insider Transactions at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, CFO Maree E. Robertson sold 48,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.55, for a total value of $2,985,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 79,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,917,475.70. This represents a 37.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 29,654 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $1,868,202.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 76,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,816,035. The trade was a 27.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 565,145 shares of company stock valued at $35,839,918 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 130,332,957 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $6,619,611,000 after acquiring an additional 1,572,769 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 63,880,757 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $3,244,504,000 after buying an additional 622,343 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 62,873,136 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $3,193,327,000 after buying an additional 395,226 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 37,353,852 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,897,202,000 after buying an additional 8,891,743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 190.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,494,793 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,431,326,000 after buying an additional 23,950,557 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

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.