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

Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 39,012 call options on the company. This is an increase of 1,001% compared to the average volume of 3,543 call options.

Institutional Trading of Comstock Resources

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its position in Comstock Resources by 3.7% in the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 13,931 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Uhlmann Price Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Comstock Resources by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Uhlmann Price Securities LLC now owns 27,653 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $548,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Comstock Resources by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 48,276 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $957,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Comstock Resources by 39.2% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,085 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 868 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Comstock Resources by 19.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,633 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. 36.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comstock Resources Stock Up 1.5%

CRK opened at $25.52 on Friday. Comstock Resources has a fifty-two week low of $14.09 and a fifty-two week high of $31.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -106.32 and a beta of 0.24. The company’s 50-day moving average is $20.85 and its 200 day moving average is $21.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.05. Comstock Resources had a negative net margin of 5.05% and a positive return on equity of 3.65%. The business had revenue of $449.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.54 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.17) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 47.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Comstock Resources will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on CRK. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Comstock Resources from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Comstock Resources from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Roth Capital lowered shares of Comstock Resources from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $12.00 in a report on Monday, August 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Comstock Resources in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Comstock Resources from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Comstock Resources has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $19.60.

About Comstock Resources

Comstock Resources, Inc, an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of natural gas and oil properties in the United States. Its assets are located in the Haynesville and Bossier shales located in North Louisiana and East Texas. The company was incorporated in 1919 and is headquartered in Frisco, Texas.