Traders Buy High Volume of Antero Resources Put Options (NYSE:AR)

Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors bought 24,956 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 265% compared to the average daily volume of 6,830 put options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Antero Resources

In other news, Director W Howard Keenan, Jr. sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.76, for a total value of $7,952,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,800,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,568,000. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 6.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Antero Resources

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Antero Resources in the first quarter valued at about $462,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Antero Resources by 7,097.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 220,519 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $8,918,000 after purchasing an additional 217,455 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Antero Resources by 35.4% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,076 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares during the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Antero Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Antero Resources in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 83.04% of the company’s stock.

Antero Resources Trading Up 8.3 %

AR opened at $34.90 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Antero Resources has a twelve month low of $24.53 and a twelve month high of $42.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 109.07 and a beta of 3.08. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.18.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.14. Antero Resources had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 0.74%. Analysts predict that Antero Resources will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Antero Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Antero Resources from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Antero Resources in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho upped their target price on Antero Resources from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Antero Resources to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.44.

About Antero Resources

Antero Resources Corporation, an independent oil and natural gas company, engages in the development, production, exploration, and acquisition of natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and oil properties in the United States. It operates in three segments: Exploration and Development; Marketing; and Equity Method Investment in Antero Midstream.