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

First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (OTCMKTS:FQVLF - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during 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 daily volume of 263,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 27.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on FQVLF shares. Canaccord Genuity Group cut First Quantum Minerals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays upgraded shares of First Quantum Minerals from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $16.00.

First Quantum Minerals Trading Up 1.3 %

OTCMKTS:FQVLF traded up $0.17 on Monday, hitting $13.16. 180,721 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 175,312. The stock has a market cap of $10.97 billion, a PE ratio of -5.90, a PEG ratio of 29.59 and a beta of 1.50. First Quantum Minerals has a fifty-two week low of $8.22 and a fifty-two week high of $15.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $13.42 and a 200-day moving average of $12.91.

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

First Quantum Minerals Company Profile

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.