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Teck Resources (NYSE:TECK) +1.9% and Ivanhoe Electric (NYSE:IE) +5.4% in Tuesday’s trading as J.P. Morgan reinstated the copper producers with Overweight ratings with respective C$70 and C$24 price targets, while Freeport McMoRan (FCX) is reinstated at Neutral with a C$42 PT.
JPM analysts led by Bill Peterson said Teck (TECK) is their preferred copper play given the company’s extensive pipeline of copper projects and likely exit from its carbon-intensive coal business, which should drive a meaningful rerating.
Ivanhoe Electric’s (IE) high-grade Santa Cruz asset, along with its suite of proprietary exploration technologies, provides a roadmap to copper production potentially by the end of the decade, JPM said.
Finally, JPM said its Neutral rating for Freeport McMoRan (FCX) reflects the company’s stable base of production through its existing portfolio of assets, with growth prospects offering incremental near-term upside.
Copper prices (CPER) (COPX) likely will remain range-bound over the next few quarters, according to JPM, which is constructive in the long term as demand growth caused by the energy transition can quickly outpace supply growth.