Antero Resources Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:AR)

Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 17,707 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 142% compared to the average volume of 7,317 put options.

Antero Resources Stock Down 6.5%

AR stock opened at $37.68 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market cap of $11.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.81 and a beta of 0.68. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $38.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.60. Antero Resources has a twelve month low of $24.53 and a twelve month high of $44.02.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. Antero Resources had a return on equity of 4.01% and a net margin of 5.96%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.12 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Antero Resources will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Antero Resources

In other Antero Resources news, Director W Howard Keenan, Jr. sold 38,013 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.32, for a total transaction of $1,532,684.16. Following the sale, the director owned 364,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,716,477.44. The trade was a 9.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Yvette K. Schultz sold 25,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.86, for a total transaction of $1,004,472.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 306,819 shares in the company, valued at $12,229,805.34. This trade represents a 7.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,125,200 shares of company stock worth $45,887,466. 6.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Antero Resources

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Antero Resources by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,060 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $493,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Antero Resources by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 7,105 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 341 shares during the period. Net Worth Advisory Group increased its holdings in Antero Resources by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 16,597 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Antero Resources by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 14,355 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $503,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Antero Resources by 10.1% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,054 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $164,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. 83.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho upgraded Antero Resources from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $47.00 to $49.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Antero Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Williams Trading set a $48.00 price target on shares of Antero Resources in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Antero Resources from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Antero Resources from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.22.

Antero Resources Company Profile

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.