Sanford C. Bernstein Has Lowered Expectations for Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Stock Price

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) had its target price decreased by equities research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from $54.00 to $53.50 in a report released on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a “market perform” rating on the natural resource company’s stock. Sanford C. Bernstein’s price target points to a potential downside of 12.81% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on FCX. Freedom Capital upgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $72.00 to $71.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen cut Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.66.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock traded down $0.12 during trading on Friday, hitting $61.36. 3,672,660 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,804,770. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $88.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.68, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.48. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $62.50 and its 200-day moving average is $53.64. Freeport-McMoRan has a 52 week low of $34.45 and a 52 week high of $70.96.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.40 billion. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 8.50%.The company’s revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.24 EPS. Research analysts expect that Freeport-McMoRan will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 29,654 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $1,868,202.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 76,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,816,035. This trade represents a 27.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.03, for a total value of $682,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 40,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,529,149.19. This trade represents a 21.25% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 565,145 shares of company stock worth $35,839,918. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 276,536 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $16,255,000 after purchasing an additional 4,266 shares during the period. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $462,000. Severin Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $486,000. Key Financial Inc lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 41.9% in the 1st quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 1,175 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the period. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 131.9% in the 1st quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 2,637 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $155,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Freeport-McMoRan

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 EPS and revenue beat estimates (EPS $0.57 vs. ~$0.47 consensus) driven by higher copper, gold and molybdenum prices, supporting near-term profitability. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Commodity tailwinds: rising copper prices were a key driver of the beat and underpin medium-term cash flow expectations for FCX. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Upgraded analyst views and higher price targets ahead of the quarter (e.g., Deutsche Bank raised its target), supporting longer-term bullish thesis. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Company released Q1 presentation, press release and full earnings call transcript — useful for modeling but not market-moving by itself. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings call transcripts are available for deeper read on management commentary and timeline for Grasberg ramp. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Company cut 2026 (and 2027) copper sales volume by ~300 million pounds due to a slower-than-expected ramp at Grasberg after last year’s fatal mud rush — this materially reduces near-term supply and revenue outlook. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: shares plunged (~10% intraday reported) after the production downgrade despite the earnings beat — the production miss dominates near-term valuation. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downward revisions: some firms (e.g., Scotiabank) trimmed earnings estimates following the weaker output outlook, adding pressure to near-term sentiment and target-price revisions. Article Title

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.