Short Interest in First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (OTCMKTS:FQVLF) Expands By 17.3%

First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (OTCMKTS:FQVLF) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,333,700 shares, a growth of 17.3% from the December 15th total of 6,252,200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 263,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 27.8 days.

First Quantum Minerals Price Performance

FQVLF traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $13.16. The stock had a trading volume of 180,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 175,312. First Quantum Minerals has a 1 year low of $8.22 and a 1 year high of $15.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.80. The business has a fifty day moving average of $13.42 and a 200 day moving average of $12.92. The company has a market cap of $10.97 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 29.59 and a beta of 1.50.

First Quantum Minerals (OTCMKTS:FQVLF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The basic materials company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.12. First Quantum Minerals had a negative net margin of 32.41% and a negative return on equity of 2.69%. The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that First Quantum Minerals will post -0.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on FQVLF shares. Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of First Quantum Minerals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays upgraded shares of First Quantum Minerals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.00.

About First Quantum Minerals

First Quantum Minerals Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and production of mineral properties. It primarily explores for copper, nickel, pyrite, silver, gold, and zinc ores, as well as produces acid. The company has operating mines located in Zambia, Panama, Finland, Turkey, Spain, Australia, and Mauritania, as well as a development project in Zambia.