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

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

Cameco Price Performance

NYSE:CCJ opened at $112.40 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $114.51 and a 200-day moving average of $107.07. The company has a market capitalization of $48.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 104.08, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.04. Cameco has a 52 week low of $50.03 and a 52 week high of $135.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 3.08.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cameco

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CCJ. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Cameco by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 21,448 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,102,000 after buying an additional 2,975 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cameco by 16.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,547 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cameco by 48.7% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 8,485 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 2,780 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cameco by 11.9% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 604,841 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $24,895,000 after purchasing an additional 64,512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewGen Equity Long Short Fund bought a new stake in shares of Cameco during the second quarter worth $14,252,000. Institutional investors own 70.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CCJ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. William Blair assumed coverage on Cameco in a research report on Monday, April 20th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $131.00 target price on shares of Cameco in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upped their price objective on shares of Cameco to $202.00 in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Cameco from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Cameco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cameco has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $153.13.

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.