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

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors purchased 28,210 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 942% compared to the typical volume of 2,706 put options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cameco

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cameco by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC now owns 75,720 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,280,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Cameco by 26.0% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,070 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Cameco by 39.0% in the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 834 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. boosted its position in Cameco by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 8,897 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $383,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Cameco by 12.3% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.21% of the company’s stock.

Cameco Price Performance

NYSE CCJ opened at $45.18 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $51.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a market cap of $19.66 billion, a PE ratio of 115.85 and a beta of 0.91. Cameco has a 1 year low of $31.58 and a 1 year high of $56.24.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.23). Cameco had a net margin of 9.28% and a return on equity of 4.60%. The business had revenue of $470.29 million for the quarter. On average, analysts predict that Cameco will post 1.12 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CCJ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Cameco from $59.00 to $60.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cameco from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Cameco from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.70.

Cameco Company Profile

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.