Traders Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Cameco (NYSE:CCJ)

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

Cameco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CCJ opened at $44.86 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.53 billion, a PE ratio of 160.21 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $47.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.99. Cameco has a 1-year low of $35.43 and a 1-year 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.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.26. The business had revenue of $845.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. Cameco had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 4.34%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Cameco will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CCJ has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com raised Cameco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Canada upgraded Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Glj Research increased their price objective on Cameco from $62.76 to $75.68 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Cameco in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Cameco in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.64.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cameco

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Cameco during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in Cameco in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new position in Cameco during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Pingora Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cameco during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cameco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. 70.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.