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

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cameco

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cameco in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cameco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new position in Cameco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Cameco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Pingora Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Cameco during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CCJ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Desjardins began coverage on Cameco in a research report on Friday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Stifel Canada raised shares of Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of Cameco from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Cameco in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Cameco in a report on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $52.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cameco currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $70.03.

Cameco Stock Performance

Shares of CCJ opened at $37.80 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 134.98 and a beta of 1.04. Cameco has a 12-month low of $35.43 and a 12-month high of $62.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $45.02 and its 200-day moving average is $50.25.

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, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26. The company had revenue of $845.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. Cameco had a return on equity of 4.34% and a net margin of 5.39%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cameco will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Cameco

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.