Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on Antero Resources (NYSE:AR)

Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Traders acquired 21,149 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 118% compared to the typical volume of 9,713 put options.

Insider Transactions at Antero Resources

In related 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 cost of $33.35 per share, for a total transaction of $166,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 295,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,868,831.95. This trade represents a 1.72% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Antero Resources

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AR. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Antero Resources during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 313 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Antero Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Antero Resources in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in Antero Resources by 59.2% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 928 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.04% of the company’s stock.

Antero Resources Price Performance

Shares of Antero Resources stock opened at $34.70 on Wednesday. Antero Resources has a 52 week low of $29.10 and a 52 week high of $44.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market cap of $10.70 billion, a PE ratio of 18.46 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $33.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.46.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.07) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Antero Resources will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on AR. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Antero Resources from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Antero Resources from $39.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Antero Resources from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Antero Resources in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Antero Resources from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.47.

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.