Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Trading Down 7.6% – Here’s What Happened

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) was down 7.6% on Friday . The stock 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.

Key Stories Impacting Freeport-McMoRan

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FCX. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $53.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $48.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.40.

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

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. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.48. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $5.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 8.50%.Freeport-McMoRan’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.31 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freeport-McMoRan Cuts Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Leo Wealth LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 924 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 6.7% during the fourth 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 increased its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 0.3% during the 4th 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. raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 4,241 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

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.