Antero Resources Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:AR)

Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders bought 15,248 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 143% compared to the typical daily volume of 6,263 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Antero Resources to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Antero Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Antero Resources from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Antero Resources from $37.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Antero Resources from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Antero Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.78.

Antero Resources Stock Up 0.1 %

AR stock traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $31.63. The company had a trading volume of 1,254,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,042,525. Antero Resources has a fifty-two week low of $20.56 and a fifty-two week high of $36.28. The company has a market capitalization of $9.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 225.57 and a beta of 3.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.77.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Antero Resources

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AR. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Antero Resources by 40.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 756,128 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $21,209,000 after acquiring an additional 218,517 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Antero Resources during the 3rd quarter worth $210,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Antero Resources by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,852,246 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $139,054,000 after purchasing an additional 61,490 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in Antero Resources by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 24,155 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $692,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd acquired a new position in Antero Resources in the third quarter valued at $430,000. 83.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.