Basic Materials Worth Chasing: Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX), Marathon Oil Corporation (MRO)

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX) ended last trading session with a change of 1.54 percent. It trades at an average volume of 28.93M shares versus 20.01M shares recorded at the end of last trading session. The share price of $12.56 is at a distance of 43.38 percent from its 52-week low and down -26.38 percent versus its peak. The company has a market cap of $18.2B and currently has 1.45B shares outstanding. The share price is currently -9.5 percent versus its SMA20, -15.12 percent versus its SMA50, and -0.64 percent versus its SMA200. The stock has a weekly performance of -2.64 percent and is -4.78 percent year-to-date as of the recent close.

February 20, 2017 — Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX) is providing an update on the status of PT Freeport Indonesia’s (PT-FI) operations and its discussions with the Government of Indonesia on concentrate exports and other matters related to its Contract of Work (COW).

Following more than five years of discussions with the Government, in which PT-FI negotiated in good faith to be responsive to the Government’s aspirations while protecting the rights of its stakeholders, the parties have failed to reach agreement.

Marathon Oil Corporation (MRO) recently recorded -1.98 percent change and currently at $15.84 is 66.45 percent away from its 52-week low and down -17.59 percent versus its peak. It has a past 5-day performance of -3.83 percent and trades at an average volume of 12.09M shares. The stock has a 1-month performance of -1 percent and is -8.21 percent year-to-date as of the recent close. There were about 849M shares outstanding which made its market cap $13.45B. The share price is currently -1.5 percent versus its SMA20, -5.49 percent versus its SMA50, and 2.42 percent versus its SMA200.

On March 09, 2017 Marathon Oil Corporation (MRO) announced it has signed an agreement to sell its Canadian subsidiary, which includes the Company’s 20 percent non-operated interest in the Athabasca Oil Sands Project (AOSP), to Shell and Canadian Natural Resources Limited for $2.5 billion in cash, excluding closing adjustments. Marathon Oil also announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire approximately 70,000 net surface acres in the Permian basin from BC Operating, Inc. and other entities for $1.1 billion in cash, excluding closing adjustments. The acquisition includes 51,500 acres in the Northern Delaware basin of New Mexico, and current production of approximately 5,000 net barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed).