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

Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors purchased 23,523 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 50% compared to the average volume of 15,670 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Antero Resources from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Mizuho set a $47.00 price target on Antero Resources in a research note on Friday, December 12th. TD Cowen upgraded Antero Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Antero Resources from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on Antero Resources in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Antero Resources currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.60.

Antero Resources Stock Down 3.8%

Antero Resources stock opened at $39.11 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.55. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.25. The company has a market cap of $12.07 billion, a PE ratio of 19.36 and a beta of 0.42. Antero Resources has a fifty-two week low of $29.10 and a fifty-two week high of $45.75.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. Antero Resources had a return on equity of 6.71% and a net margin of 12.02%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.48 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Antero Resources will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Yvette K. Schultz sold 15,000 shares of Antero Resources stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.33, for a total value of $589,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 319,122 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,551,068.26. This trade represents a 4.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Benjamin A. Hardesty sold 12,000 shares of Antero Resources stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total value of $528,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 150,242 shares in the company, valued at $6,610,648. This represents a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Antero Resources

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Annandale Capital LLC increased its stake in Antero Resources by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Annandale Capital LLC now owns 73,754 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $2,475,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Antero Resources by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,108 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in Antero Resources by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 15,752 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $529,000 after buying an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Uhlmann Price Securities LLC increased its stake in Antero Resources by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Uhlmann Price Securities LLC now owns 15,125 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $508,000 after buying an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Antero Resources by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.04% of the company’s stock.

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.