Short Interest in First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (OTCMKTS:FQVLF) Rises By 14.5%

First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (OTCMKTS:FQVLF) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,121,300 shares, a growth of 14.5% from the June 30th total of 4,473,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 181,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 28.2 days.

First Quantum Minerals Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of First Quantum Minerals stock opened at $11.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $12.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 1.32. First Quantum Minerals has a 1 year low of $6.92 and a 1 year high of $29.79.

First Quantum Minerals (OTCMKTS:FQVLF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The basic materials company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.02. First Quantum Minerals had a negative return on equity of 0.57% and a negative net margin of 24.07%. The company had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. On average, research analysts expect that First Quantum Minerals will post -0.22 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets downgraded First Quantum Minerals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Citigroup upgraded First Quantum Minerals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on First Quantum Minerals in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered First Quantum Minerals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.00.

First Quantum Minerals Company Profile

First Quantum Minerals Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and production of mineral properties. It primarily explores for copper, nickel, pyrite, silver, gold, and zinc ores, as well as produces acid. The company has operating mines located in Zambia, Panama, Finland, Turkey, Spain, Australia, and Mauritania, as well as a development project in Zambia.