Cameco Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:CCJ)

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on CCJ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $131.00 target price on shares of Cameco in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Cameco in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $147.00 target price on shares of Cameco in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Cameco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, TD Securities downgraded Cameco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $153.13.

Cameco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CCJ opened at $112.40 on Friday. Cameco has a twelve month low of $50.03 and a twelve month high of $135.24. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $114.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.07. The company has a market capitalization of $48.95 billion, a PE ratio of 104.08, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 3.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.05. Cameco had a return on equity of 11.05% and a net margin of 18.38%.The firm had revenue of $607.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $598.63 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.16 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Cameco will post 1.32 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cameco

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in Cameco in the first quarter valued at approximately $258,000. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Cameco by 6.2% in the first quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 3,583 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Cameco by 211.6% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 684,567 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $74,351,000 after purchasing an additional 464,867 shares during the last quarter. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC purchased a new position in Cameco in the first quarter valued at approximately $469,000. Finally, Aristides Capital LLC lifted its stake in Cameco by 9.8% in the first quarter. Aristides Capital LLC now owns 26,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,865,000 after purchasing an additional 2,361 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.21% of the company’s stock.

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.