iShares Focused Value Factor ETF -- Insider Buying Index Registering 10.3%
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Sep 11 2024
0mins
Source: NASDAQ.COM
Insider Buying Activity: The iShares Focused Value Factor ETF (FOVL) shows that 10.3% of its holdings have experienced insider buying in the past six months, with notable purchases from Synovus Financial Corp and Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.
Significant Holdings: Synovus Financial Corp constitutes 3.03% of FOVL's assets, while Cleveland-Cliffs Inc makes up about 1.37%, reflecting recent insider transactions by their directors and officers.
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Analyst Views on CLF
Wall Street analysts forecast CLF stock price to fall
9 Analyst Rating
2 Buy
5 Hold
2 Sell
Hold
Current: 13.580
Low
5.75
Averages
12.78
High
17.00
Current: 13.580
Low
5.75
Averages
12.78
High
17.00
About CLF
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. is a steel producer with a focus on value-added sheet products, particularly for the automotive industry in North America. The Company is vertically integrated from the mining of iron ore, production of pellets and direct reduced iron, and processing of ferrous scrap through primary steelmaking and downstream finishing, stamping, tooling, and tubing. Its offering includes advanced high-strength steel, hot-dipped galvanized, aluminized, galvalume, electrogalvanized, galvanneal, hot-rolled coil (HRC), cold-rolled coil, plate, grain oriented electrical steel (GOES), non-oriented electrical steel (NOES), stainless steels, tool and die, stamped components, and slabs. Its Other Businesses primarily include the Tubular and Tooling and Stamping segments that provide customer solutions with carbon and stainless-steel tubing products, advanced-engineered solutions, tool design and build, hot- and cold-stamped steel components and complex assemblies.
About the author

Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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- Honor Recognition: Cleveland-Cliffs was awarded the 2025 Supplier of the Year by General Motors at its 34th annual Supplier of the Year event, being the only North American steel producer recognized this year, highlighting its leadership in the automotive steel supply chain.
- Strategic Partnership: GM's Senior Vice President Shilpan Amin emphasized that suppliers' outstanding performance is crucial for vehicle development, and Cleveland-Cliffs' support in new technology and execution enables GM to respond faster and compete more effectively in the market.
- Commitment to Excellence: Cleveland-Cliffs' CEO Lourenco Goncalves stated that receiving this award reflects the company's commitment to providing a secure, reliable domestic supply chain and best-in-class steel products in North America, further solidifying its market position.
- Global Impact: The 2025 GM Supplier Awards recognized 103 suppliers from 14 countries, underscoring Cleveland-Cliffs' exceptional performance in key areas such as safety, innovation, and customer support, showcasing its significant role in the global automotive industry.
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- Sector Performance: The materials sector, accounting for only 1.9% of the S&P 500, has outperformed the index by 700 basis points so far in 2026, indicating strong investment returns and attracting increased investor interest.
- Steel Industry Transformation: Cleveland-Cliffs, the largest U.S. producer of flat-rolled steel, has seen its stock price rise nearly 50% over the past year, and its partnership with Palantir Technologies to leverage AI in logistics and manufacturing enhances its market position.
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- AI Technology Partnership: Cleveland-Cliffs has signed a three-year agreement with Palantir to integrate AI software into production planning, order entry, and daily operations, aiming to enhance manufacturing efficiency amid intensifying global steel competition.
- Data Integration Improvement: By implementing Palantir's platform, Cleveland-Cliffs seeks to improve data integration and coordination across facilities, which is expected to optimize decision-making processes and enhance overall operational performance, driving the company's modernization efforts.
- Complexity Management: CEO Lourenco Goncalves emphasized that the complexity of integrated steelmaking allows Palantir's platform to provide solutions that surpass human-driven processes, demonstrating the company's strategic commitment to boosting productivity and performance.
- Industry Transformation Signal: This partnership represents not only an incremental step in Cleveland-Cliffs' productivity enhancement efforts but also reflects a broader trend of traditional industrial players increasingly relying on AI technology to gain operational advantages and adapt to rapidly changing market conditions.
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- Environmental Settlement: The proposed settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice requires Cleveland-Cliffs to address hazardous waste releases at its Middletown Works steel plant, with corrective measures expected to cost $12 million, highlighting the company's increasing environmental accountability.
- Historical Waste Management: Under the consent decree, Cleveland-Cliffs is responsible for managing closed landfills that historically received waste from the mill, including industrial wastewater treatment and sludge from steel production, which will impact its operational costs and compliance obligations.
- Lawsuit Closure: This settlement will close a civil lawsuit against the company's predecessor, AK Steel, initiated by the DOJ, indicating a significant shift in the company's legal and environmental responsibilities that could affect its future legal risks and reputation.
- Regulatory Pressure: With the involvement of the state of Ohio and environmental groups, this settlement reflects ongoing regulatory pressure on Cleveland-Cliffs regarding environmental compliance, potentially prompting the company to enhance its environmental management and sustainability strategies in the future.
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- Three-Year Agreement: Cleveland-Cliffs has entered into a three-year agreement with Palantir to deploy AI tools across its operations and commercial processes, aiming to enhance overall efficiency through data integration and optimized production workflows.
- AI Platform Applications: Palantir's AI platform will serve as the core of Cleveland-Cliffs' internal systems, encompassing production planning, order entry, and broader operational workflows, thereby improving coordination between facilities and anticipating operational constraints in real time.
- Modernization Efforts: This agreement builds on earlier pilot work with Palantir, demonstrating Cleveland-Cliffs' ongoing commitment to modernizing its steel production systems and improving efficiency, even as its shares fell 1.2% in premarket trading.
- Market Reaction: Despite Cleveland-Cliffs expecting a $60 per ton increase in selling prices for Q2 and targeting $425 million in cash receipts from idled properties, the market's cautious response to the latest agreement reflects investor concerns about the company's future outlook.
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