Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Shares Down 7.6% – Should You Sell?

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX)’s share price dropped 7.6% on Friday . The company traded as low as $58.66 and last traded at $60.1990. Approximately 40,710,410 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 65% from the average daily volume of 24,700,371 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.13.

More Freeport-McMoRan News

Here are the key news stories impacting Freeport-McMoRan this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat — Freeport reported adjusted EPS of $0.47, well above expectations, and solid revenue that confirmed margin leverage to higher copper prices. Inside Freeport’s Latest Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Copper price rally — Supply disruptions in South America, China stimulus and accelerating EV/renewables demand are pushing copper higher, which benefits pure?play producers like Freeport. 3 Top Copper Stocks to Watch as Copper Prices Skyrocket: BHP, FCX, SCCO
• Positive Sentiment: Structural demand theme — Analysts and market research highlight an AI?driven scarcity premium for copper, reinforcing a multi?year bull case for miners. Digging Into Demand: Copper’s Scarcity Premium Is Rising
• Positive Sentiment: Valuation upside flagged — A valuation piece suggests intrinsic value materially above current share price, supporting longer?term upside. Freeport-McMoRan Inc.’s (NYSE:FCX) Intrinsic Value Is Potentially 74% Above Its Share Price
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large call activity — Traders bought ~175k call contracts, signaling bullish positioning or hedged speculation that can amplify moves higher if sentiment flips.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary roundup — Market notes and analyst insights on Freeport and peers provide mixed views on cost structure, growth projects and commodity exposure. Analysts Offer Insights on Materials Companies: Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) and Albemarle (ALB)
• Negative Sentiment: Operational uncertainty at Grasberg — Ongoing restart plans and recent disruptions keep production risk on the table, a headline risk that can trigger volatility. Freeport Beats Profit Views As Grasberg Restart Plan Refocuses Investor Debate
• Negative Sentiment: Profit?taking and technical selling — After hitting all?time highs, the stock drew selling pressure and high intraday volume, which can magnify a pullback even with positive fundamentals. Freeport McMoRan stock hits all-time high at 68.94 USD

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FCX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $70.00 price objective on Freeport-McMoRan in a report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Freeport-McMoRan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $53.50 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, January 23rd. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $58.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.40.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $51.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.48. The firm has a market cap of $86.44 billion, a PE ratio of 39.87, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.45.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.19. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The business had revenue of $5.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 15th will be issued a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 15th. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.87%.

Insider Transactions at Freeport-McMoRan

In related news, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 9,572 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.66, for a total transaction of $456,201.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 38,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,847,349.26. The trade was a 19.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 28,423 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.99, for a total value of $1,364,019.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 105,294 shares in the company, valued at $5,053,059.06. This trade represents a 21.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Leo Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Leo Wealth LLC now owns 6,838 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 924 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,119 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 64,438 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $3,273,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 4,241 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. 80.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc is a U.S.-based natural resources company primarily engaged in the exploration, mining and processing of copper, gold and molybdenum. Its operations encompass large-scale open-pit and underground mining as well as associated concentrator and milling facilities. The company produces copper in the form of concentrates and cathodes, and also recovers gold and molybdenum as co-products; its business model includes exploration, development, mining, beneficiation and the sale of bulk commodities to smelters and industrial customers.

Freeport-McMoRan conducts operations and development activities across multiple geographies, with substantial assets in the Americas and Indonesia.