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

First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (OTCMKTS:FQVLF) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,066,800 shares, an increase of 12.7% from the March 31st total of 2,722,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 207,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 14.8 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on FQVLF shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of First Quantum Minerals from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Raymond James upped their target price on First Quantum Minerals from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Quantum Minerals has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.33.

First Quantum Minerals Price Performance

OTCMKTS FQVLF traded up $0.12 on Tuesday, reaching $12.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 80,634 shares, compared to its average volume of 307,052. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $10.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.74. The stock has a market cap of $10.82 billion, a PE ratio of -7.64 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.72. First Quantum Minerals has a twelve month low of $6.92 and a twelve month high of $29.79.

First Quantum Minerals (OTCMKTS:FQVLF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The basic materials company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by ($0.06). First Quantum Minerals had a positive return on equity of 0.26% and a negative net margin of 20.02%. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $931.34 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Quantum Minerals will post -0.15 EPS for the current year.

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.