First Quantum Minerals Ltd.

First Quantum Minerals (FM) has risen 44% this year based on its closing prices on February 26.

The metals and mining space has seen a lot of turbulence over the last five years. In 2015, China’s slowdown concerns spooked commodity investors.

Freeport-McMoRan (FCX), the leading US-based copper miner, is trading with gains of 5.5% as of 11:55 AM EST.

As of January 18, Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) stock had risen 21.8% this year.

We’re now into the fourth-quarter earnings season, and Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) is scheduled to release its earnings on January 24.

Lower energy prices Previously, we discussed copper miners’ production profiles and 2018 guidance. In this part, we’ll look at leading copper producers’ unit cash costs and see what’s impacted their unit cost progression. Comparative analysis Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) reported unit cash costs after by-product credit of $0.93 per pound in the third quarter—compared to $0.96 per […]

Copper prices have been largely rangebound during the past month. Copper prices have hovered above $6,000 per metric ton.

First Quantum Minerals (FM) has received “strong buy” ratings from eight analysts, while nine have given it “buy” ratings or some equivalent.

Antofagasta (ANTO) has received “strong buy” ratings from seven analysts, while five have given it “buy” ratings or some equivalent.

In 2017, Freeport-McMoRan underperformed copper miners Southern Copper (SCCO) and First Quantum Minerals (FM) for most of the year on Grasberg concerns.

The second-quarter earnings season is over, and most copper miners have released their quarterly financial performance results.

Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) is seeing a selling spree today, and its stock is trading down 7.0% as of 1:40 PM EDT on July 19.

Wall Street analysts seem to be sitting on the sidelines as Freeport negotiates its long-term mining rights in Indonesia.

Copper tends to underperform in periods of uncertainty and rising geopolitical risk—something we’re witnessing now.

Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) has received a “buy” or higher rating from nine analysts, while three analysts rated it as a “sell.”

Southern Copper carries a mean consensus target price of $46.8, which represents a potential downside of 8.5% over its closing price on June 11.

In this part of our series, we’ll look at copper miners’ first-quarter free cash flows and look at the 2018 cash flow guidance.

Previously in this series, we looked at copper miners’ first-quarter production and 2018 guidance. In this article, we’ll look at their unit production costs.

In this final article of our series, we’ll see how analysts are rating Freeport ahead of its 1Q18 earnings release.

Freeport-McMoRan, the leading US copper miner, is slated to release its 1Q18 earnings on April 24.

Among other factors, a wave of labor negotiations has lent support to copper’s bullish thesis.

In this series, we’ll see how analysts are rating copper miners amid sagging commodity prices.

Freeport has several greenfield copper exploration opportunities.

In the previous part of this series, we looked at Freeport-McMoRan’s (FCX) capital allocation strategy.

In this part of our series, we’ll see how mining companies’ net debt progressed last year. You can define net debt as total debt minus cash and cash equivalents.

In this part of our series, we’ll look at different copper miners’ interest coverage ratios.

In this part of our series, we’ll do a comparative analysis of mining companies’ adjusted EBITDA.

In the previous part of this series, we looked at leading copper miners’ 4Q17 unit cash costs.

Previously in this series, we looked at copper miners’ 4Q17 production profiles and 2018 guidance.

In this article, we’ll look at leading copper miners’ 4Q17 production data.

We’re now nearing the end of 4Q17 earnings season, and most copper miners have released their results.

Southern Copper (SCCO) has received a “buy” rating from only one analyst, while six analysts rate the stock as a “hold” or some equivalent.

Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) posted revenues of $5.0 billion in 4Q17. The company posted revenues of $4.3 billion in 3Q17 and $4.4 billion in 4Q16.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect Freeport to post revenues of $4.7 billion in 4Q17, which is 9.5% higher than the sequential quarter.

In December, China imported 440,000 metric tons of unwrought copper and copper products. Imports fell on a YoY (year-over-year) and a monthly basis.

Freeport-McMoRan (FCX), the leading US copper miner, closed at $18.1 on December 22. Based on that day’s closing prices, Freeport has gained 30.0% in December.

Freeport-McMoRan, which has underperformed the broader copper mining space in 2017, rose 13.4% last week. Thanks to last week’s upward price action, it’s now risen 28.7% in 2017.

China’s copper imports data are closely followed by investors in companies such as Freeport-McMoRan (FCX), Glencore (GLEN-L), and Southern Copper (SCCO).

Copper prices have come off their 2017 highs. Copper, which closed almost flat last month, has lost 3.3% in December.

In this series, we’ll see how analysts are rating leading copper miners as 2017 draws to a close. We’ll also see how vehicle electrification could impact mining companies.

With copper prices trading sideways this month, copper miners also had a dull month. Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) fell 0.42% in November.

Global mined copper production fell 2.2% YoY in the first eight months of the year. The decline was mainly led by a 5% fall in Chilean copper production.

Glencore (GLEN-L) has the highest percentage of “buy” or higher recommendations in our select group of mining stocks.

Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) generated free cash flows of $875 million in 3Q17, taking its free cash flows in the first nine months of 2017 to almost $2.0 billion.

Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) posted adjusted EBITDA of $1.6 billion in 3Q17.

Last week copper prices broke free of yet another psychological price level.

Copper prices have regained momentum in October after showing weakness in the last month. So far, copper has risen 4.9% in October.

Glencore (GLEN-L) was the third-largest copper producer last year, after Codelco and Freeport-McMoRan (FCX).

Argentina (ARGT) posted a higher trade deficit for May 2017 at $642 million, mainly due to increasing imports as compared to its exports.

Argentina’s (FM) consumer confidence saw a huge drop in June 2017, as Argentinians are highly unsatisfied with the austerity measures President Macri’s government has adopted.

Argentina’s economy expanded in 1Q17 after consecutive contractions over the last three quarters.

The Merval Index, Argentina’s benchmark index, has risen about 10.5% so far in 2017 as of June 23.

Argentina’s inflation has been surging for a couple of years, spiking to around 40.0% in 2016 compared to 10.0% between 2007 and 2009.

For more than a decade, the outgoing party’s continual resistance to honoring debt led to Argentina’s exclusion from international financial markets.

Not all emerging markets (EEM) seem investment-worthy. Only some consumption-driven emerging markets appear attractive.

While these exotic markets are not for everyone, more aggressive investors should consider having a small strategic allocation to the frontier.

So-called frontier markets (FM) – those markets that are still at a very early stage of development — have been among the best performers in 2014, outperforming global markets (ACWI) year to date.

Though a growing number of funds are providing access to frontier markets, it’s important to remember that frontier countries generally have less established equity markets.

Diversification: Finally, companies in frontier markets tend to just focus on demand in their local countries and thus are less tied to the global economy than emerging markets like China and Brazil. As my colleagues Del Stafford and Daniel Morillo pointed out last fall in blog posts, this means frontier markets have exhibited a low […]

In 2015, some of the smaller emerging, and even frontier markets have the potential to do well because that is where we have seen some of the best valuations and growth.

While a traditional emerging market benchmark is up 1.5% year-to-date, frontier, or “pre-emerging” markets, have been performing well.

When considering an investment in frontier markets (FM), it’s important to note that all exposures are not created equal. The fact that these markets are hard to access can be reflected in the type of securities that some frontier market indexes include.

Given that frontier markets are smaller and hard to access, what’s the draw for an investor? There are a few potential portfolio benefits to be aware of.

Looking for the next frontier in emerging market investing? Del Stafford dives into these underdeveloped countries to assess the investment case.

Frontier markets haven’t performed in lock step with the more developed emerging world. Over the past year, frontier markets, as measured by the MSCI Frontier Markets Index, have delivered a stellar return of 21%.

Qatar’s and UAE’s equity markets have increased roughly 47% and 188%, respectively, since the beginning of 2013. As a result of their previous classification as frontier markets, the broad MSCI Frontier Markets 100 Index has risen roughly 32%.

You need to exercise caution while investing in frontier markets due to problems of liquidity and high concentration in the finance sector.

Many investors are approaching frontier stocks too narrowly, viewing them as a subset of their emerging markets’ (EMB) allocation and selling off part of their emerging market equities’ exposure to gain access to the frontier.

Emerging markets are quickly becoming the driver of global growth.

Going to frontier markets offers more of an opportunity to discover the most overlooked companies.

Frontier equity markets typically have modest market capitalization, limited investability and liquidity, and few market information sources.