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

Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders bought 14,721 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 99% compared to the typical volume of 7,415 put options.

Antero Resources Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE AR traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $37.13. 3,182,859 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,202,359. The company has a market capitalization of $11.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 116.05 and a beta of 0.66. Antero Resources has a 52-week low of $24.53 and a 52-week high of $42.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $36.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.46.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.10. Antero Resources had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 0.74%. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.12 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 20.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Antero Resources will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Antero Resources

In related news, insider Yvette K. Schultz sold 25,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.86, for a total transaction of $1,004,472.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 306,819 shares in the company, valued at $12,229,805.34. The trade was a 7.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director W Howard Keenan, Jr. sold 1,061,987 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.82, for a total transaction of $43,350,309.34. Following the transaction, the director now owns 38,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,551,690.66. This represents a 96.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,125,200 shares of company stock valued at $45,887,466 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 6.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Antero Resources in the first quarter worth $8,757,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Antero Resources in the first quarter worth $6,880,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Antero Resources by 10.1% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,054 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $164,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Antero Resources by 396.2% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 116,387 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $4,707,000 after buying an additional 92,930 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in shares of Antero Resources by 18.9% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 19,921 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $806,000 after buying an additional 3,169 shares during the last quarter. 83.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Antero Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Antero Resources from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $58.00 target price on shares of Antero Resources in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Williams Trading set a $48.00 price target on shares of Antero Resources in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Antero Resources from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.33.

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.