Spotlight on Freeport-McMoRan: Analyzing the Surge in Options Activity
Spotlight on Freeport-McMoRan: Analyzing the Surge in Options Activity
Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bearish stance on Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX).
And retail traders should know.
We noticed this today when the trades showed up on publicly available options history that we track here at Benzinga.
Whether these are institutions or just wealthy individuals, we don't know. But when something this big happens with FCX, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen.
So how do we know what these investors just did?
Today, Benzinga's options scanner spotted 21 uncommon options trades for Freeport-McMoRan.
This isn't normal.
The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 38% bullish and 52%, bearish.
Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 13 are puts, for a total amount of $465,277, and 8 are calls, for a total amount of $341,366.
Expected Price Movements
Analyzing the Volume and Open Interest in these contracts, it seems that the big players have been eyeing a price window from $34.0 to $60.0 for Freeport-McMoRan during the past quarter.
Insights into Volume & Open Interest
In terms of liquidity and interest, the mean open interest for Freeport-McMoRan options trades today is 5409.67 with a total volume of 3,726.00.
In the following chart, we are able to follow the development of volume and open interest of call and put options for Freeport-McMoRan's big money trades within a strike price range of $34.0 to $60.0 over the last 30 days.
Freeport-McMoRan Call and Put Volume: 30-Day Overview
Significant Options Trades Detected:
| Symbol | PUT/CALL | Trade Type | Sentiment | Exp. Date | Ask | Bid | Price | Strike Price | Total Trade Price | Open Interest | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FCX | CALL | SWEEP | BULLISH | 09/20/24 | $13.85 | $13.45 | $13.85 | $34.00 | $94.2K | 175 | 0 |
| FCX | PUT | SWEEP | BEARISH | 07/19/24 | $1.3 | $1.29 | $1.3 | $48.50 | $65.0K | 2.0K | 7 |
| FCX | CALL | SWEEP | BULLISH | 01/17/25 | $5.15 | $5.05 | $5.15 | $47.00 | $51.5K | 11.8K | 11 |
| FCX | CALL | TRADE | BULLISH | 08/16/24 | $7.95 | $7.8 | $7.95 | $40.00 | $47.7K | 2.2K | 0 |
| FCX | PUT | SWEEP | BEARISH | 09/20/24 | $0.94 | $0.92 | $0.93 | $42.00 | $43.1K | 3.1K | 1.1K |
About Freeport-McMoRan
Freeport-McMoRan Inc is an international mining company. It has organized its mining operations into four primary divisions: North America copper mines, South America mining, Indonesia mining and Molybdenum mines. Its reportable segments include the Morenci, Cerro Verde and Grasberg (Indonesia mining) copper mines, the Rod & Refining operations and Atlantic Copper Smelting and Refining. It derives key revenue from the sale of Copper.
Following our analysis of the options activities associated with Freeport-McMoRan, we pivot to a closer look at the company's own performance.
Current Position of Freeport-McMoRan
- Currently trading with a volume of 10,385,213, the FCX's price is down by -5.24%, now at $45.96.
- RSI readings suggest the stock is currently may be approaching oversold.
- Anticipated earnings release is in 5 days.
What Analysts Are Saying About Freeport-McMoRan
Over the past month, 1 industry analysts have shared their insights on this stock, proposing an average target price of $62.0.
- An analyst from Morgan Stanley upgraded its action to Overweight with a price target of $62.
Options are a riskier asset compared to just trading the stock, but they have higher profit potential. Serious options traders manage this risk by educating themselves daily, scaling in and out of trades, following more than one indicator, and following the markets closely.