Investors Purchase Large Volume of Antero Resources Put Options (NYSE:AR)

Key Points

• Investors bought an unusually large volume of put options—29,523 puts on Tuesday, a 77% increase versus the average—indicating elevated bearish bets or hedging activity on AR.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $49.63, and several firms issuing upgrades and targets as high as $56.
• Corporate insiders have been net sellers, disposing of 252,316 shares (about $9.98M) in the past three months, leaving insiders with roughly 6.3% ownership.

Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 29,523 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 77% compared to the average volume of 16,650 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Williams Trading set a $56.00 price target on shares of Antero Resources in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Antero Resources in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Benchmark upgraded shares of Antero Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Antero Resources to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Antero Resources from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Antero Resources has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $49.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Benjamin A. Hardesty sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total value of $528,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 150,242 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,610,648. This represents a 7.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael N. Kennedy sold 185,826 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.33, for a total transaction of $7,308,536.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,085,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,680,601.36. The trade was a 14.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 252,316 shares of company stock valued at $9,977,259 in the last three months. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Antero Resources

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Annandale Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Antero Resources by 0.4% in the third quarter. Annandale Capital LLC now owns 73,754 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $2,475,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Antero Resources by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,108 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in shares of Antero Resources by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 15,752 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $529,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Uhlmann Price Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Antero Resources by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Uhlmann Price Securities LLC now owns 15,125 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $508,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Antero Resources by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.04% of the company's stock.

Antero Resources Stock Down 1.0%

AR traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $39.15. The company had a trading volume of 1,202,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,031,844. Antero Resources has a 52 week low of $29.10 and a 52 week high of $45.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $12.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.36. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $39.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.75.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.33 billion. Antero Resources had a net margin of 16.39% and a return on equity of 7.80%. The business's revenue was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.48 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Antero Resources will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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