Investors Buy Large Volume of Cameco Put Options (NYSE:CCJ)

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 28,210 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 942% compared to the average volume of 2,706 put options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cameco

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cameco during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in Cameco by 71.5% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 571 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Cameco by 99.3% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,204 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Cameco in the first quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Finally, BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in Cameco in the 1st quarter worth approximately $93,000. 70.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Cameco from $59.00 to $60.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Cameco from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Cameco from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $66.56.

Cameco Stock Performance

Shares of Cameco stock opened at $56.68 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 145.33 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $44.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.58. Cameco has a 52 week low of $35.43 and a 52 week high of $57.55.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $598.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $756.00 million. Cameco had a return on equity of 5.63% and a net margin of 9.72%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.01) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Cameco will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

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.