Tariffs and Copper Market Dynamics: The article discusses the impact of tariffs, particularly a recent 25% tariff on copper imports announced by President Trump, which has created volatility in the stock market. It highlights that while tariffs may initially hurt profit margins, they won't diminish the growing demand for copper driven by trends like electrification and data infrastructure.
Investment Opportunities in Copper Stocks: The piece identifies three key copper mining companies—Freeport-McMoRan, Southern Copper, and Lundin Mining—that are positioned to benefit from the anticipated copper shortage due to increasing demand and supply constraints. It suggests that investing in these stocks could yield significant returns for investors willing to navigate market fluctuations.
Wall Street analysts forecast FCX stock price to fall over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for FCX is 52.40 USD with a low forecast of 44.00 USD and a high forecast of 68.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
15 Analyst Rating
Wall Street analysts forecast FCX stock price to fall over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for FCX is 52.40 USD with a low forecast of 44.00 USD and a high forecast of 68.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
14 Buy
1 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 58.850
Low
44.00
Averages
52.40
High
68.00
Current: 58.850
Low
44.00
Averages
52.40
High
68.00
Bernstein
Bernstein
Outperform
to
Market Perform
downgrade
$54
2026-01-23
New
Reason
Bernstein
Bernstein
Price Target
$54
AI Analysis
2026-01-23
New
downgrade
Outperform
to
Market Perform
Reason
Bernstein downgraded Freeport-McMoRan to Market Perform from Outperform with a price target of $54, up from $53.50. The firm notes Freeport-McMoRan reported Q4 2025 results with a beat on sales and earnings, but the stock was down about 2%. Importantly, the company's Q4 results were evidence of a continued turnaround from the Grasberg external mud rush incident. Bernstein notes that Freeport's current valuation embeds a much higher copper price than it is comfortable with.
JPMorgan
Bill Peterson
Overweight
maintain
$58 -> $68
2026-01-08
Reason
JPMorgan
Bill Peterson
Price Target
$58 -> $68
2026-01-08
maintain
Overweight
Reason
JPMorgan analyst Bill Peterson raised the firm's price target on Freeport-McMoRan to $68 from $58 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm adjusted ratings and targets in the North America base metals group as part of a Q4 preview. It lifted targets to reflect to improved forward pricing. JPMorgan continues to favor copper over aluminum citing supply disruptions and a weaker dollar.
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Jefferies
Christopher LaFemina
Buy
maintain
$55 -> $68
2026-01-05
Reason
Jefferies
Christopher LaFemina
Price Target
$55 -> $68
2026-01-05
maintain
Buy
Reason
Jefferies analyst Christopher LaFemina raised the firm's price target on Freeport-McMoRan to $68 from $55 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Freeport disclosed its realized copper price for Q4 this morning, and the firm updated its model accordingly, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Assuming the company hit its operation targets for the quarter, the firm now estimates Q4 EBITDA of $1.62B and EPS of 35c, versus the consensus estimates of $1.32B and 25c, respectively. Freeport continues to be one of Jefferies' top picks, the analyst adds.
Wells Fargo
upgrade
$47 -> $55
2025-12-23
Reason
Wells Fargo
Price Target
$47 -> $55
2025-12-23
upgrade
Reason
Wells Fargo raised the firm's price target on Freeport-McMoRan to $55 from $47 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm says supply constraints can support copper and aluminum prices, especially through Q3 2026. Wells also points out that steep power costs and copper switching especially boost aluminum.
About FCX
Freeport-McMoRan Inc. is an international metals company focused on copper. The Company operates geographically diverse assets with significant proven and probable mineral reserves of copper, gold and molybdenum. The Company's segments include the Morenci and Cerro Verde copper mines, the Indonesia operations (including the Grasberg minerals district and PT-FI’s downstream processing facilities), the Rod & Refining operations and Atlantic Copper Smelting & Refining. Its operations include North America, South America and Indonesia. In North America, it manages seven copper operations: Morenci, Bagdad, Safford (including Lone Star), Sierrita and Miami in Arizona, and Chino and Tyrone in New Mexico, and two molybdenum mines: Henderson and Climax in Colorado. It also operates a copper smelter in Miami, Arizona. In South America, it manages two copper operations: Cerro Verde in Peru and El Abra in Chile. In addition to copper, the Grasberg minerals district also produces gold and silver.
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.
