Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold (FCX)

Still likes the metals. Several year cycle ahead of us. Leader in the group. They have the second largest copper mine in the world, and there will be a deficit in copper supply, with prices going higher. Also look at Rio Tinto for iron ore and BHP. No dividend. (Analysts’ price target is $22.36)

Although they are in a number of minerals, this trades closer to copper, and copper has done really well. The stock is going to be volatile, as there are going to be hits and misses on earnings. It is underpinned right now by some pretty decent fundamentals on the commodity side. There are a number of secular drivers that he suspects will be behind this. Hasn't seen anything that indicates you need to be overly cautious.

Copper markets have had a great move this year. This has some gold, but mostly copper and a lot of oil. The balance sheet got very stretched. They've done a great job of paying down debt. Looking in better shape than they have for a long time. Thinks there is still upside to go.

It is a consolidating stock since mid-2015. There is technical resistance about $16. It keeps repeating this. If it could break this it would be quite bullish. Until then it is moving sideways.

When times are good, this company makes tons of money. Then, unfortunately, they often make a lot of lousy acquisitions and/or get into other businesses. This company eventually had to eliminate the dividend because they were paying out too much. These are stocks that you “rent” not “own”.

(A Top Pick Feb 16/16. Up 150.55%.) About a year ago, you couldn’t give resource stocks away. This was into copper and oil and it had a really bad balance sheet. Copper turned around and oil did better. He recently sold his position. He is not as bullish on copper and oil now.

About a year ago, he was a big fan of this. This is a stock that was trying to find its own way. It didn’t know what it wanted to be. Right now this is a stock that you need to own. It looks great.

This would only be for speculators. Copper prices have been falling because demand out of China isn’t as great as it was deemed to be 2 weeks ago. They are a single B credit, which has them in low junk status, because of their debt and low, if not negative, cash flows.

Short or Buy? This has gone from mid-$50 to below $10. The recent rally to $12.57 may seem impressive, but looking at a 5-year chart, this is still in a major downtrend. Commodities have just finished a major cycle, and going by past history, it takes 3, 5, or even 7 years for big commodity cycles to recover and go back up. He would not hold this one.