First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (OTCMKTS:FQVLF) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (OTCMKTS:FQVLF) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,121,300 shares, a growth of 14.5% from the June 30th total of 4,473,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 181,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 28.2 days.

First Quantum Minerals Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of FQVLF stock traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $11.59. 134,989 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 205,792. First Quantum Minerals has a twelve month low of $6.92 and a twelve month high of $29.79. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

First Quantum Minerals (OTCMKTS:FQVLF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The basic materials company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.02. First Quantum Minerals had a negative return on equity of 0.57% and a negative net margin of 24.07%. The business had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that First Quantum Minerals will post -0.22 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FQVLF. Citigroup raised First Quantum Minerals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on First Quantum Minerals in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets downgraded First Quantum Minerals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded First Quantum Minerals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Quantum Minerals has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.00.

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.