Investors Purchase High 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. Investors purchased 28,210 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 942% compared to the average volume of 2,706 put options.

Cameco Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CCJ traded up $0.82 during trading on Friday, hitting $53.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,025,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,391,398. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $47.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 3.22. Cameco has a fifty-two week low of $35.43 and a fifty-two week high of $58.72. The company has a market capitalization of $23.08 billion, a PE ratio of 124.30 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $598.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $756.00 million. Cameco had a net margin of 9.72% and a return on equity of 5.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.01) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Cameco will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Cameco in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake 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 worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Cameco by 130.6% in the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 971 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Cameco by 99.3% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,204 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cameco by 68.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,575 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 642 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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