Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) Upgraded to "Overweight" by Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Antero Resources (NYSE:AR - Free Report) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Morgan Stanley currently has $36.00 price objective on the oil and natural gas company's stock, up from their prior price objective of $26.00.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Antero Resources from $26.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Benchmark cut shares of Antero Resources from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Antero Resources from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Antero Resources from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Antero Resources from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a strong-buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $30.69.

Antero Resources Price Performance

Shares of AR stock traded up $0.04 on Wednesday, hitting $29.16. 3,861,723 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,793,455. The firm has a market cap of $8.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.87 and a beta of 3.30. Antero Resources has a 52 week low of $19.91 and a 52 week high of $30.90. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Antero Resources had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 2.10%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Antero Resources will post 0.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director W Howard Keenan, Jr. sold 206,978 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.15, for a total transaction of $5,412,474.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,793,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,187,525.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Sheri Pearce sold 28,009 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.29, for a total transaction of $736,356.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 106,698 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,805,090.42. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director W Howard Keenan, Jr. sold 206,978 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.15, for a total transaction of $5,412,474.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,793,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $99,187,525.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 467,280 shares of company stock worth $12,153,605. 5.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AR. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in Antero Resources by 165.7% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 44,473 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $1,358,000 after purchasing an additional 27,738 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in Antero Resources by 3,532.9% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,543 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 2,473 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new stake in Antero Resources during the 1st quarter worth approximately $220,000. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its position in Antero Resources by 20.8% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 25,046 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $813,000 after purchasing an additional 4,311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. purchased a new stake in Antero Resources during the 1st quarter worth approximately $230,000. Institutional investors own 83.04% of the company's stock.

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.