Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF)

09 Apr 2026, 16:40 by Scott Moore · The Cerbat Gem

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF – Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Traders acquired 69,555 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 72% compared to the average volume of 40,512 call options.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Up 2.0%

CLF stock traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $9.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,054,541 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,351,430. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $10.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.93. Cleveland-Cliffs has a 12 month low of $5.63 and a 12 month high of $16.70. The company has a market capitalization of $5.26 billion, a PE ratio of -3.16 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The mining company reported ($0.43) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.62) by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.60 billion. Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative net margin of 7.91% and a negative return on equity of 18.94%. Cleveland-Cliffs’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.68) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Cleveland-Cliffs will post -0.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Cleveland-Cliffs from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Argus upgraded Cleveland-Cliffs to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Cleveland-Cliffs from $12.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.99.

Read Our Latest Analysis on Cleveland-Cliffs

Insider Activity at Cleveland-Cliffs

In other news, COO Clifford T. Smith sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.46, for a total value of $2,092,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 560,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,863,133.34. This represents a 26.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Lourenco Goncalves sold 3,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.42, for a total transaction of $37,260,000.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CLF. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 99,649 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,216,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 0.6% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 152,009 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,855,000 after purchasing an additional 943 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs by 3.0% during the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 33,118 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 960 shares during the last quarter. Whitcomb & Hess Inc. raised its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Whitcomb & Hess Inc. now owns 26,752 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 973 shares during the period. Finally, Rexford Capital Inc. raised its position in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Rexford Capital Inc. now owns 9,500 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.68% of the company’s stock.

Cleveland-Cliffs Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc is a leading North American producer of iron ore pellets and flat-rolled steel products. Tracing its roots to 1847, the company has evolved from an iron-ore mining concern in the Great Lakes region into a fully integrated steelmaker. Today, Cleveland-Cliffs operates iron ore mining complexes in Michigan and Minnesota as well as steelmaking and finishing facilities across the United States.