Cameco Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:CCJ)

Cameco Corporation (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock investors purchased 28,210 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 942% compared to the average daily volume of 2,706 put options.

Cameco Price Performance

Shares of Cameco stock opened at $114.20 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $114.03 and a 200 day moving average of $95.95. Cameco has a 52 week low of $35.00 and a 52 week high of $135.24. The company has a market cap of $49.74 billion, a PE ratio of 117.73 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.07. Cameco had a net margin of 17.00% and a return on equity of 9.35%. The business had revenue of $874.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $782.13 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.36 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Cameco will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Cameco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cameco by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 21,448 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,102,000 after purchasing an additional 2,975 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Cameco by 16.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in Cameco by 48.7% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 8,485 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 2,780 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cameco by 11.9% during the 1st 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 valued at $24,895,000 after buying an additional 64,512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Cameco by 936.2% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 487 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 440 shares during the period. 70.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CCJ. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Cameco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $131.00 price objective on shares of Cameco in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $147.00 target price on shares of Cameco in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cameco in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Cameco from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cameco currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $143.03.

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.