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

Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock traders purchased 101,384 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 812% compared to the average daily volume of 11,119 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AR shares. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Antero Resources from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Roth Mkm reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of Antero Resources in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Antero Resources in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Antero Resources in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Antero Resources from $39.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.60.

Antero Resources Stock Performance

Shares of AR stock traded up $1.14 during trading on Monday, reaching $35.43. 2,917,507 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,564,621. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $34.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.37. Antero Resources has a twelve month low of $29.10 and a twelve month high of $44.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.93 billion, a PE ratio of 18.83 and a beta of 0.50.

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

Insider Transactions at Antero Resources

In other news, insider Brendan E. Krueger purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $33.35 per share, for a total transaction of $166,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 295,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,868,831.95. This trade represents a 1.72% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AR. 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 valued at $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 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in Antero Resources in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in Antero Resources by 59.2% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Antero Resources by 114.2% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 938 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.04% of the company’s stock.

About Antero Resources

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.