Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company downgraded the stock from an overweight rating to an underweight rating. The stock had previously closed at $28.65, but opened at $27.92. Wells Fargo & Company now has a $25.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $34.00. Antero Resources shares last traded at $28.43, with a volume of 232,194 shares trading hands.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on AR. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Antero Resources from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $40.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Antero Resources from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Antero Resources in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $29.00 target price for the company. Roth Capital upgraded shares of Antero Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Antero Resources from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Antero Resources news, insider Yvette K. Schultz sold 50,000 shares of Antero Resources stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.24, for a total transaction of $1,262,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 248,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,268,682.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Antero Resources

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of Antero Resources by 11.3% during the first quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 3,384 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Antero Resources by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 18,499 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $604,000 after acquiring an additional 616 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Antero Resources by 27.8% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,012 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 655 shares in the last quarter. Fund 1 Investments LLC lifted its position in Antero Resources by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Fund 1 Investments LLC now owns 40,800 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $925,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Antero Resources by 1,311.8% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 960 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 892 shares during the last quarter. 83.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Antero Resources Stock Down 0.9 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 143.28 and a beta of 3.33.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and natural gas company reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.20) by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $978.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $980.20 million. Antero Resources had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 0.45%. Equities analysts expect that Antero Resources Co. will post 0.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.