Cameco Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:CCJ)

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Traders purchased 384,705 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 1,490% compared to the average daily volume of 24,198 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cameco

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Cameco in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cameco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new stake in shares of Cameco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Pingora Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Cameco during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Cameco during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 70.21% of the company’s stock.

Cameco Price Performance

NYSE:CCJ opened at $42.71 on Friday. Cameco has a 12-month low of $35.43 and a 12-month high of $62.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 152.53 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $46.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

CCJ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Cameco in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Cameco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Cameco in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Glj Research increased their price target on Cameco from $62.76 to $75.68 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Stifel Canada upgraded Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $73.64.

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.