First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (OTCMKTS:FQVLF) Short Interest Up 17.3% in December

First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (OTCMKTS:FQVLF) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of 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 trading volume of 263,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 27.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FQVLF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. 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 First Quantum Minerals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.00.

First Quantum Minerals Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of OTCMKTS:FQVLF traded up $0.17 on Friday, reaching $13.16. 180,721 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 175,312. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. First Quantum Minerals has a 52 week low of $8.22 and a 52 week high of $15.23.

First Quantum Minerals (OTCMKTS:FQVLF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The basic materials company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. Analysts expect that First Quantum Minerals will post -0.07 earnings per share 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.