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

Cameco Corporation (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders acquired 28,210 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 942% compared to the average volume of 2,706 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CCJ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Cameco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lifted their price objective on Cameco to $202.00 in a research report on Monday, March 9th. TD Securities cut Cameco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Cameco in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Cameco from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.40.

Cameco Price Performance

CCJ stock opened at $123.08 on Friday. Cameco has a 52-week low of $44.52 and a 52-week high of $135.24. The business has a fifty day moving average of $114.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $105.19. The stock has a market cap of $53.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 126.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.02. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $874.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $782.13 million. Cameco had a return on equity of 9.35% and a net margin of 17.00%.The company’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.36 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Cameco will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cameco

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Cameco by 1.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 258,193 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Cameco by 0.3% during 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 during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 85,762 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Cameco by 15.6% in 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 buying an additional 849,188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Cameco by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,978,333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $455,468,000 after buying an additional 323,693 shares during the period. 70.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.