Freeport-McMoRan Inc (NYSE:FCX) shares are trading lower Tuesday after the company announced a temporary suspension of operations at its Grasberg Block Cave mine in Papua, Indonesia. The halt in operations comes after a large flow of wet material blocked access to an area of the underground mine, trapping seven team members.
What To Know: The production halt at one of the world’s largest copper and gold deposits is rattling investors Tuesday. The Grasberg mine is a critical asset for Freeport-McMoRan, and any significant halt in production could negatively impact the company’s output and revenue forecasts.
While the company has confirmed the location of the workers and stated they are believed to be safe, the incident highlights the inherent operational risks in mining.
Freeport-McMoRan’s management has emphasized that their priority is the safe and expeditious evacuation of the trapped personnel. Chairman Richard C. Adkerson and CEO Kathleen Quirk stated, “The safety and wellbeing of our workforce is always our number one priority.”
Benzinga Edge Rankings: Despite Tuesday’s downturn, Benzinga Edge stock rankings show the company maintains a strong Momentum score of 74.16, indicating solid price performance leading up to the incident.
Price Action: According to data from Benzinga Pro, FCX shares are trading lower by 5.84% to $43.95 Tuesday. The stock has a 52-week high of $52.61 and a 52-week low of $27.66.
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How To Buy FCX Stock
By now you're likely curious about how to participate in the market for Freeport-McMoRan – be it to purchase shares, or even attempt to bet against the company.
Buying shares is typically done through a brokerage account. You can find a list of possible trading platforms here. Many will allow you to buy “fractional shares,” which allows you to own portions of stock without buying an entire share.
If you're looking to bet against a company, the process is more complex. You'll need access to an options trading platform, or a broker who will allow you to “go short” a share of stock by lending you the shares to sell. The process of shorting a stock can be found at this resource. Otherwise, if your broker allows you to trade options, you can either buy a put option, or sell a call option at a strike price above where shares are currently trading – either way it allows you to profit off of the share price decline.
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