Investors Purchase High Volume of Antero Resources Put Options (NYSE:AR)

Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Investors bought 24,956 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 265% compared to the typical daily volume of 6,830 put options.

Antero Resources Trading Down 6.5 %

NYSE AR traded down $2.21 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $31.94. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,725,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,968,808. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35. Antero Resources has a 52-week low of $24.53 and a 52-week high of $42.63. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 99.30 and a beta of 3.08.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts expect that Antero Resources will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Antero Resources

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Antero Resources

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in Antero Resources by 17.5% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 20,327 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $582,000 after acquiring an additional 3,022 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Antero Resources by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 18,432 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $532,000 after purchasing an additional 3,266 shares in the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Antero Resources during the 3rd quarter worth $558,000. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd acquired a new position in Antero Resources in the 3rd quarter worth $430,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in Antero Resources by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 24,155 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $692,000 after buying an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Antero Resources from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Antero Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Antero Resources from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Antero Resources from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target 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. 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 assigned a strong buy 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 $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.