Comstock Resources Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:CRK)

Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 13,932 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 304% compared to the average volume of 3,446 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Comstock Resources in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $19.00 price target on Comstock Resources in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Comstock Resources from $21.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. UBS Group set a $17.00 price objective on Comstock Resources in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Comstock Resources from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $27.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Friday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Comstock Resources has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $20.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Comstock Resources news, VP Patrick Mcgough sold 48,915 shares of Comstock Resources stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.20, for a total value of $1,036,998.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 187,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,975,339.20. The trade was a 20.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comstock Resources

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRK. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Comstock Resources during the first quarter worth approximately $627,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Comstock Resources by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 55,236 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,124,000 after purchasing an additional 2,697 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Comstock Resources by 67.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,086,868 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $22,107,000 after purchasing an additional 437,476 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Comstock Resources by 26.0% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 65,289 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,328,000 after purchasing an additional 13,485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Comstock Resources by 24.2% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 18,083 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $500,000 after buying an additional 3,519 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.13% of the company’s stock.

Comstock Resources Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE CRK opened at $19.50 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.83 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Comstock Resources has a 52-week low of $14.65 and a 52-week high of $31.17.

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.05. Comstock Resources had a net margin of 17.80% and a return on equity of 6.30%. The firm had revenue of $787.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $504.66 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.16 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 115.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Comstock Resources will post 0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Comstock Resources

Comstock Resources, Inc is an independent energy company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development and production of oil and natural gas properties in the United States. The company focuses on generating long-term value through the efficient development of unconventional resource plays and conventional prospects. Its activities encompass drilling, completion and production operations, as well as the marketing of natural gas, natural gas liquids and crude oil.

Comstock holds a core position in the Haynesville Shale of Northwest Louisiana, one of the most active natural gas plays in North America, and has built a complementary portfolio in the Delaware Basin of West Texas.