Cameco Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:CCJ)

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Traders bought 28,210 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 942% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,706 put options.

Cameco Trading Down 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE CCJ opened at $40.93 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 1.26. Cameco has a fifty-two week low of $35.43 and a fifty-two week high of $62.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 146.16 and a beta of 1.04.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26. Cameco had a return on equity of 4.34% and a net margin of 5.39%. The business had revenue of $845.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. On average, analysts predict that Cameco will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cameco

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Cameco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $188,595,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Cameco by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,639,647 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,163,942,000 after purchasing an additional 1,811,876 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Cameco by 120.2% during the 4th quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 2,245,539 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $115,398,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,966 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Cameco by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 10,088,407 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $518,443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196,336 shares during the period. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Cameco by 54.2% in the fourth quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 3,393,233 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $174,433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,193,266 shares in the last quarter. 70.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CCJ. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Cameco in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $52.00 target price for the company. Glj Research raised their price target on shares of Cameco from $62.76 to $75.68 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Stifel Canada raised shares of Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. StockNews.com downgraded Cameco from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Cameco in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Cameco currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.03.

Cameco Company Profile

Cameco Corporation provides uranium for the generation of electricity. It operates through Uranium, Fuel Services, Westinghouse segments. The Uranium segment is involved in the exploration for, mining, and milling, purchase, and sale of uranium concentrate. The Fuel Services segment engages in the refining, conversion, and fabrication of uranium concentrate, as well as the purchase and sale of conversion services.