Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) Stock Lower as Copper Prices Fall
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) - Get Report stock is slumping 4.74% to $11.06 in late-afternoon trading on Thursday as copper prices retreat on weak data out of the U.S. and Europe.
Copper prices hit their lowest levels in two-and-a-half months earlier today, as weaker-than-expected data for U.S. jobs and European industrial output exacerbate concerns about global demand for the metal, Reuters reports.
"People are casting around for positive data and they're just not finding it. Any misses on the downside of any of these key economic data points is going to result in base metals taking a hit," Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Asa Bridle told Reuters.
A stronger dollar is further weighing on metals by making them more expensive to foreign buyers.
Copper for July deliver is decreasing 1.40% to $2.07 on the COMEX this afternoon. Freeport-McMoRan is a copper producer based in Phoenix.
Earlier this week, the company announced its plan to sell its interests in the Tenke copper project in the Democratic Republic of Congo to China Molybdenum (CMCLF) for $2.65 billion in cash to ease its $20 billion debt load.
Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates the stock as a "sell" with a ratings score of D.
Freeport's weaknesses include its generally high debt management risk, disappointing return on equity, generally disappointing historical performance in the stock itself and feeble growth in its earnings per share.
You can view the full analysis from the report here: FCX
TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this articles's author.
