Analyst Upgrades: Exxon Mobil Corporation, Freeport-McMoRan Inc, and Yamana Gold Inc.

Analysts upwardly revised their ratings and price targets on Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM), Freeport-McMoRan Inc (NYSE:FCX), and Yamana Gold Inc. (USA) (NYSE:AUY)

Josh Selway

Apr 8, 2016 at 10:05 AM

Analysts are weighing in on oil giant Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM), mining stock Freeport-McMoRan Inc (NYSE:FCX), and gold stock Yamana Gold Inc. (USA) (NYSE:AUY). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on XOM, FCX, and AUY.

XOM is up 1.4% this morning at $83.49, thanks to a price-target hike at Barclays to $85 from $80. The oil stock has rallied 16.7% from its year-to-date low of $71.55 in late January, recently finding support near the $82 level -- near the site of the stock's December highs. Options traders aren't sold on this technical strength, though. Exxon Mobil Corporation's 50-day put/call volume ratio at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) stands at 2.55 -- in the 93rd percentile of its annual range.

FCX has added 3.5% to trade at $9.16, after Deutsche Bank and Nomura raised their price targets to $10. Both firms view the company's sale of a stake in its Morenci mine as a positive catalyst for the stock. Freeport-McMoRan Inc has been red-hot the past three months, more than doubling the gains of the broader S&P 500 Index (SPX), on a relative-strength basis. There's potential for additional bullish attention from Wall Street, too. For instance, 80% of brokerage firms tracking FCX currently rate it just a "hold."

AUY saw its price target bumped to $3.50 from $2.25 this morning at Credit Suisse and $3.20 from $2.70 at CIBC, sending the stock up 3% to $3.40. The stock has followed gold prices higher this year, roughly doubling in value since the end of January. This may be why long calls continue to be popular at the ISE, CBOE, and PHLX. Specifically, 18.63 Yamana Gold Inc. calls have been bought to open for every put during the past two weeks across these exchanges.

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