Traders Buy High Volume of Comstock Resources Call Options (NYSE:CRK)

Key Points

• Traders bought 13,932 call options on Comstock (NYSE:CRK), a 304% increase over the average daily call volume, marking unusually high bullish options activity.
• Shares fell 6.6% to $19.68 on Wednesday despite a quarterly EPS beat ($0.16 vs. $0.11) and revenue that rose 115.5% year‑over‑year to $787.3 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed-to-negative with a MarketBeat consensus rating of Reduce and a $20.88 target, while insiders sold shares (VP sold ~48,915) even as institutions like Goldman Sachs substantially increased their stake.

Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 13,932 call options on the company. This is an increase of 304% compared to the average daily volume of 3,446 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CRK shares. Bank of America cut shares of Comstock Resources from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $27.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Comstock Resources from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Morgan Stanley set a $19.00 target price on Comstock Resources in a report on Friday, February 13th. Mizuho increased their target price on Comstock Resources from $21.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Comstock Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $20.88.

Comstock Resources Stock Down 6.6%

Shares of NYSE:CRK traded down $1.40 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $19.68. The stock had a trading volume of 1,037,031 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,461,260. Comstock Resources has a one year low of $14.65 and a one year high of $31.17. The company has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.96 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $21.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.42.

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.05. Comstock Resources had a net margin of 17.80% and a return on equity of 6.30%. The firm had revenue of $787.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $504.66 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.16 EPS. Comstock Resources's revenue was up 115.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Comstock Resources will post 0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Comstock Resources

In other Comstock Resources news, VP Patrick Mcgough sold 48,915 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.20, for a total transaction of $1,036,998.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 187,516 shares in the company, valued at $3,975,339.20. This represents a 20.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Comstock Resources

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Comstock Resources during the 1st quarter worth $627,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Comstock Resources by 5.1% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 55,236 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,124,000 after buying an additional 2,697 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Comstock Resources by 67.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,086,868 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $22,107,000 after acquiring an additional 437,476 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Comstock Resources by 26.0% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 65,289 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,328,000 after acquiring an additional 13,485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Comstock Resources by 24.2% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 18,083 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $500,000 after acquiring an additional 3,519 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.13% of the company's stock.

About Comstock Resources

Comstock Resources, Inc is an independent energy company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development and production of oil and natural gas properties in the United States. The company focuses on generating long-term value through the efficient development of unconventional resource plays and conventional prospects. Its activities encompass drilling, completion and production operations, as well as the marketing of natural gas, natural gas liquids and crude oil.

Comstock holds a core position in the Haynesville Shale of Northwest Louisiana, one of the most active natural gas plays in North America, and has built a complementary portfolio in the Delaware Basin of West Texas.

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