Decoding Freeport-McMoRan's Options Activity: What's the Big Picture?

Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bullish stance on Freeport-McMoRan 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 8 uncommon options trades for Freeport-McMoRan.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 75% bullish and 12%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 3 are puts, for a total amount of $219,546, and 5 are calls, for a total amount of $321,320.

Predicted Price Range

Analyzing the Volume and Open Interest in these contracts, it seems that the big players have been eyeing a price window from $30.0 to $50.0 for Freeport-McMoRan during the past quarter.

Analyzing Volume & Open Interest

In today's trading context, the average open interest for options of Freeport-McMoRan stands at 4142.83, with a total volume reaching 5,914.00. The accompanying chart delineates the progression of both call and put option volume and open interest for high-value trades in Freeport-McMoRan, situated within the strike price corridor from $30.0 to $50.0, throughout the last 30 days.

Freeport-McMoRan Option Volume And Open Interest Over Last 30 Days

Noteworthy Options Activity:

About Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan owns stakes in 10 copper mines, led by its 49% ownership of the Grasberg copper and gold operations in Indonesia, 55% of the Cerro Verde mine in Peru, and 72% of Morenci in Arizona. It sold around 1.2 million metric tons of copper (its share) in 2024, making it the one of the world's largest copper miners by volume. It also sold about 900,000 ounces of gold, mostly from Grasberg, and 70 million pounds of molybdenum. It had about 25 years of copper reserves at end December 2024. We expect it to sell similar amounts of copper midcycle in 2029, though we expect gold volumes to decline to about 700,000 ounces then due to falling production at Grasberg.

Current Position of Freeport-McMoRan

• With a trading volume of 1,627,012, the price of FCX is up by 2.26%, reaching $36.67.
• Current RSI values indicate that the stock is is currently neutral between overbought and oversold.
• Next earnings report is scheduled for 77 days from now.

Professional Analyst Ratings for Freeport-McMoRan

5 market experts have recently issued ratings for this stock, with a consensus target price of $46.0.

Turn $1000 into $1270 in just 20 days?

20-year pro options trader reveals his one-line chart technique that shows when to buy and sell. Copy his trades, which have had averaged a 27% profit every 20 days. Click here for access. * Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Jefferies keeps a Buy rating on Freeport-McMoRan with a target price of $48. * Reflecting concerns, an analyst from Bernstein lowers its rating to Market Perform with a new price target of $46. * An analyst from Scotiabank has decided to maintain their Sector Perform rating on Freeport-McMoRan, which currently sits at a price target of $48. * An analyst from Jefferies has revised its rating downward to Hold, adjusting the price target to $40. * An analyst from JP Morgan has decided to maintain their Neutral rating on Freeport-McMoRan, which currently sits at a price target of $48.

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.

If you want to stay updated on the latest options trades for Freeport-McMoRan, Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts.