Antero Resources Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:AR)

Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 17,707 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 142% compared to the typical daily volume of 7,317 put options.

Insider Activity at Antero Resources

In other news, insider Yvette K. Schultz sold 25,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 306,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,229,805.34. The trade was a 7.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director W Howard Keenan, Jr. sold 38,013 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.32, for a total transaction of $1,532,684.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 364,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,716,477.44. The trade was a 9.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,125,200 shares of company stock worth $45,887,466. Corporate insiders own 6.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Antero Resources

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its position in Antero Resources by 22.8% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 184,972 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $7,480,000 after purchasing an additional 34,311 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Antero Resources in the first quarter worth about $8,757,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Antero Resources during the first quarter valued at $6,880,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in 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. 83.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on AR shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Antero Resources in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Antero Resources from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 16th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Antero Resources from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $58.00 price target on shares of Antero Resources in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of Antero Resources from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $49.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.22.

Antero Resources Trading Down 6.5%

Shares of AR stock traded down $2.60 on Tuesday, hitting $37.68. The company had a trading volume of 9,036,563 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,310,992. Antero Resources has a twelve month low of $24.53 and a twelve month high of $44.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.39. The stock's 50-day moving average is $38.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.60. The firm has a market cap of $11.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.78 and a beta of 0.68.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.10. Antero Resources had a net margin of 5.96% and a return on equity of 4.01%. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.12 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 20.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Antero Resources will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Antero Resources Company Profile

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.