CME Group (CME) to Introduce Cobalt Hydroxide Futures on Oct 23
CME Group Inc. CME recently announced the launch of Cobalt Hydroxide futures to provide more hedging opportunities in the electric vehicle space. The launch will take place on Oct 23, after the completion of regulatory conditions.
The new launch is the fourth battery metals futures contract introduced by CME Group to address the evolving hedging needs amid growing demand in the electric vehicle space. This new futures contract will help manage the price risk of global, standard-grade cobalt metal and hydroxide delivered to China, wherein it is refined into a battery-grade material. The contract will be financially settled depending on Fastmarkets’ assessment of the cobalt hydroxide price.
CME Group’s Cobalt Hydroxide futures will add to its Cobalt Metal Futures, which was launched in December 2020. It will be listed and subjected to the rules of COMEX under the name Cobalt Hydroxide CIF China futures. Cobalt Metal futures trading has already crossed its total trading volume in 2022, with 21,000 contracts traded in the year-to-date period. As CME Group continues to enhance its offerings in the form of new futures contracts, its top line, Transaction and Clearing fees will show improvement in the future.
CME Group continues to focus on driving growth and customer acquisition by expanding, innovating and scaling its core offerings and increasing participation from non-U.S. customers. This is achieved by the expansion of its global sales team, cross-selling of products, expansion of the existing benchmark products, product and service launches, and deepening of open interest in core futures and options offerings.
CME Group’s exchange consists of designated contract markets for the trading of futures and options contracts. CME enables clients to trade futures, options, cash and over-the-counter markets and optimize portfolios. CME focuses on maximizing futures and options growth globally, diversifying business and revenues, and delivering unparalleled customer efficiencies and operational excellence.
Zacks Rank & Price Performance
Shares of this largest futures exchange in the world in terms of trading volume and notional value traded have rallied 8.3% in the past year compared with the industry’s growth of 7.3%.
CME Group currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
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Stocks to Consider
Some better-ranked players in the broader Finance space include Aegon N.V. AEG, Trupanion, Inc. TRUP and Employers Holdings, Inc. EIG. Each of these companies presently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Aegon’s current-year earnings indicates 42.1% year-over-year growth. In the past 30 days, AEG has witnessed one upward estimate revision against none in the opposite direction.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Trupanion’s current-year earnings has improved 3.8% in the past 30 days. It has witnessed one upward estimate revision during this time against no movement in the opposite direction. Also, the consensus mark for TRUP’s revenues in 2023 suggests 19.5% year-over-year growth.
The consensus mark for Employers Holdings’ current-year earnings indicates a 14.3% year-over-year increase. It has witnessed one upward estimate revision in the past 60 days against no downward movement. Furthermore, the consensus estimate for EIG’s revenues in 2023 suggests 20.5% year-over-year growth.
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