Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on Cameco (NYSE:CCJ)

Cameco Corporation (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Traders acquired 28,210 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 942% compared to the typical volume of 2,706 put options.

Cameco Stock Down 4.5%

Cameco stock opened at $101.80 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $116.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Cameco has a 1-year low of $35.00 and a 1-year high of $135.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 104.95 and a beta of 0.98.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $874.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $782.13 million. Cameco had a return on equity of 9.35% and a net margin of 17.00%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.36 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Cameco will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CCJ. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Cameco by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,059,335 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,653,639,000 after buying an additional 258,193 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Cameco by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,545,354 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,240,047,000 after buying an additional 41,430 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Cameco by 0.7% in the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,973,799 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,089,080,000 after acquiring an additional 85,762 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its position in shares of Cameco by 41.4% in the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 7,076,815 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $524,988,000 after acquiring an additional 2,071,373 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Cameco by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,292,995 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $575,771,000 after acquiring an additional 849,188 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on CCJ. Glj Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $171.20 target price (up from $100.00) on shares of Cameco in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $131.00 price target on shares of Cameco in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cameco in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Zacks Research lowered Cameco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upped their target price on Cameco to $202.00 in a report on Monday, March 9th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $150.40.

About Cameco

Cameco Corporation (NYSE: CCJ) is a leading producer of uranium and a supplier to the global nuclear power industry. Headquartered in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, the company is engaged in the exploration, mining, milling and sale of uranium concentrate, commonly known as yellowcake, which is used as fuel for nuclear reactors. Cameco also participates in services and activities that support the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle, including processing and marketing of uranium to utilities under long‑term and spot contracts.

The company’s operations have historically centered in Canada and the United States, where it operates and develops uranium mining and processing properties.