Short Interest in First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (OTCMKTS:FQVLF) Increases By 17.3%

First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (OTCMKTS:FQVLF) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,333,700 shares, an increase of 17.3% from the December 15th total of 6,252,200 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 263,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 27.8 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on FQVLF. Barclays raised shares of First Quantum Minerals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of First Quantum Minerals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.00.

First Quantum Minerals Stock Performance

Shares of FQVLF stock traded up $0.17 during trading on Friday, reaching $13.16. 180,721 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 175,312. First Quantum Minerals has a 1 year low of $8.22 and a 1 year high of $15.23. The company has a market capitalization of $10.97 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.90, a PEG ratio of 29.59 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $13.42 and its 200 day moving average is $12.92.

First Quantum Minerals (OTCMKTS:FQVLF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The basic materials company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.12. First Quantum Minerals had a negative return on equity of 2.69% and a negative net margin of 32.41%. The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. Equities research analysts expect that First Quantum Minerals will post -0.07 EPS for the current year.

About First Quantum Minerals

First Quantum Minerals Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and production of mineral properties. It primarily explores for copper, nickel, pyrite, silver, gold, and zinc ores, as well as produces acid. The company has operating mines located in Zambia, Panama, Finland, Turkey, Spain, Australia, and Mauritania, as well as a development project in Zambia.