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

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

Cameco Stock Down 3.2%

CCJ stock opened at $51.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 184.18 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 2.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $43.54 and a 200-day moving average of $48.90. Cameco has a fifty-two week low of $35.00 and a fifty-two week high of $62.55.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $549.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $890.07 million. Cameco had a return on equity of 4.34% and a net margin of 5.39%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.13 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cameco will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CCJ shares. Desjardins started coverage on shares of Cameco in a research report on Friday, April 4th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Glj Research lifted their target price on shares of Cameco from $62.76 to $75.68 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Cameco in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $52.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Canada upgraded Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Cameco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.03.

Institutional Trading of Cameco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CCJ. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cameco in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Cameco by 100.0% in the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 600 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Cameco during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new position in Cameco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Dagco Inc. purchased a new stake in Cameco during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.21% of the company’s stock.

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.