Antero Resources Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:AR)

Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors bought 101,384 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 812% compared to the typical daily volume of 11,119 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Roth Mkm restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of Antero Resources in a report on Monday, December 8th. Zacks Research raised Antero Resources from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Antero Resources from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $39.00 target price (down previously from $44.00) on shares of Antero Resources in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised Antero Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.60.

Antero Resources Stock Up 3.3%

NYSE AR traded up $1.14 during trading on Monday, reaching $35.43. 2,917,507 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,564,621. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $10.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.83 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.37. Antero Resources has a 12-month low of $29.10 and a 12-month high of $44.01.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.38). Antero Resources had a return on equity of 7.51% and a net margin of 11.73%.The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.07) earnings per share. Antero Resources’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Antero Resources will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Antero Resources

In other Antero Resources news, insider Brendan E. Krueger purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $33.35 per share, with a total value of $166,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 295,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,868,831.95. The trade was a 1.72% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in Antero Resources by 91.3% during the 2nd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 656 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Antero Resources during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Antero Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in Antero Resources by 59.2% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 928 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Antero Resources by 114.2% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 938 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 83.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Antero Resources Company Profile

Antero Resources Corporation is an independent exploration and production company focused on the development of natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and oil properties in the Appalachian Basin of the United States. The company’s operations target the Marcellus and Utica shales, where it applies advanced drilling and completion techniques to optimize recovery from its large acreage position. Antero’s portfolio encompasses significant reserves of ethane, propane and other NGLs, alongside dry gas volumes that are positioned to serve both domestic and export markets.

Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Antero Resources holds approximately 1.8 million net acres of leasehold interests across parts of West Virginia and Ohio.