Cameco Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:CCJ)

Cameco Corporation (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors acquired 64,670 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 186% compared to the typical volume of 22,573 put options.

Cameco Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE:CCJ traded up $1.46 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $82.93. The company had a trading volume of 3,045,307 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,521,393. The firm has a market cap of $36.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 140.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.17. Cameco has a fifty-two week low of $77.70 and a fifty-two week high of $135.24. The business’s fifty day moving average is $94.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 3.06.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.26 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $573.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $579.60 million. Cameco had a net margin of 10.20% and a return on equity of 7.59%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Cameco will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cameco

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CCJ. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Cameco by 3.1% in the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment raised its holdings in Cameco by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 1,928 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $176,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Cameco by 0.8% during the second quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 15,123 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,540,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Cameco by 4.1% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,414 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $371,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. boosted its position in Cameco by 7.8% during the first quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 1,940 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CCJ shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Cameco from $104.00 to $97.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Cameco from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen cut Cameco from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Cameco from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Cameco in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cameco currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.68.

About Cameco

Cameco Corporation is a Canadian uranium company headquartered in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. It is one of the world’s major suppliers of uranium, producing uranium concentrates used to generate nuclear power. The company’s operations span uranium exploration, mining, milling, refining, conversion and fuel manufacturing.

Cameco operates or has interests in uranium assets in Canada, the United States and Kazakhstan. Its Canadian portfolio includes the McArthur River and Cigar Lake mines and the Key Lake and McClean Lake milling operations in northern Saskatchewan.