Freeport-McMoRan (FCX – Research Report), the Basic Materials sector company, was revisited by a Wall Street analyst today. Analyst Carlos De Alba from Morgan Stanley maintained a Buy rating on the stock and has a $44.00 price target.
Carlos De Alba has given his Buy rating due to a combination of factors related to Freeport-McMoRan’s operational and financial outlook. Despite a projected increase in net cash costs due to lower gold sales in Indonesia, the company is expected to benefit from a higher realized copper price of $4.40 per pound, which exceeds the Visible Alpha consensus estimate. This higher copper price is anticipated to more than compensate for the increased costs, suggesting potential upside to consensus EBITDA and EPS estimates.
Moreover, Freeport-McMoRan’s ability to maintain its copper sales guidance, despite delays in concentrate export licensing, and its expectation to recover lost gold sales over the year, further supports the positive outlook. The alignment of a significant portion of its copper sales with COMEX prices, which have been favorable, adds to the company’s strong position. These factors collectively underpin Carlos De Alba’s Buy rating for Freeport-McMoRan’s stock.
In another report released on March 20, J.P. Morgan also upgraded the stock to a Buy with a $52.00 price target.