Freeport-McMoRan Insiders Sold US$2.2m Of Shares Suggesting Hesitancy

Over the past year, many Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX [1]) insiders sold a significant stake in the company which may have piqued investors' interest. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more beneficial than knowing whether they are selling, as the latter can be open to many interpretations. However, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

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The Executive VP & Chief Administrative Officer, Stephen Higgins, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US£1.4m worth of shares at a price of US£47.99 each.

So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US£53.04. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation.

While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. We note that the biggest single sale was only 23% of Stephen Higgins's holding.

Freeport-McMoRan insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year.

By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

View our latest analysis for Freeport-McMoRan [3]

NYSE:FCX Insider Trading Volume December 29th 2025

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).[4]

The last three months saw significant insider selling at Freeport-McMoRan. In total, insiders dumped US£1.8m worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. This may suggest that some insiders think that the shares are not cheap.

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders.

A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Freeport-McMoRan insiders own about US£323m worth of shares (which is 0.4% of the company). Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying.

And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. But it is good to see that Freeport-McMoRan is growing earnings. While insiders do own a lot of shares in the company (which is good), our analysis of their transactions doesn't make us feel confident about the company.

So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. For example - Freeport-McMoRan has 1 warning sign[5] we think you should be aware of.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.[6]

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.[7] This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data.

Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

References

^ NYSE:FCX (au.finance.yahoo.com)
^ We've found 21 US stocks that are forecast to pay a dividend yield of over 6% next year.

See the full list for free. (simplywall.st)
^ View our latest analysis for Freeport-McMoRan (simplywall.st)
^ list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar). (simplywall.st)
^ 1 warning sign (simplywall.st)
^ list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt. (simplywall.st)
^ Get in touch (investor-research.typeform.com)