Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Cameco (NYSE:CCJ)

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

Cameco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CCJ opened at $52.50 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Cameco has a 12 month low of $35.43 and a 12 month high of $58.72. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.05. The stock has a market cap of $22.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 122.09 and a beta of 0.90.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $598.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $756.00 million. Cameco had a net margin of 9.72% and a return on equity of 5.63%. The business’s revenue was up 24.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.01) earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Cameco will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cameco

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. S.A. Mason LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cameco by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 3,655 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $175,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Silvia Mccoll Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cameco by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Silvia Mccoll Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cameco by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC now owns 13,689 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cameco by 39.0% during the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 834 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cameco by 71.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 571 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. 70.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CCJ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Glj Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $63.73 target price on shares of Cameco in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Cameco from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Cameco from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $66.56.

About Cameco

Cameco Corporation provides uranium for the generation of electricity. It operates through Uranium, Fuel Services, Westinghouse segments. The Uranium segment is involved in the exploration for, mining, and milling, purchase, and sale of uranium concentrate. The Fuel Services segment engages in the refining, conversion, and fabrication of uranium concentrate, as well as the purchase and sale of conversion services.