Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK)

Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 7,484 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 210% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,418 call options.

Institutional Trading of Comstock Resources

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRK. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Comstock Resources by 1,691.3% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 71,920 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,516,000 after buying an additional 67,905 shares in the last quarter. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Comstock Resources in the first quarter worth about $63,000. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP lifted its position in shares of Comstock Resources by 877.8% during the first quarter. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP now owns 128,938 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,718,000 after purchasing an additional 115,752 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Comstock Resources by 5.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 726,140 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $15,307,000 after purchasing an additional 38,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Comstock Resources by 30.5% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 104,655 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,206,000 after purchasing an additional 24,486 shares during the last quarter. 36.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Comstock Resources Stock Performance

NYSE CRK traded up $0.80 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $13.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,299,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,504,285. Comstock Resources has a 52 week low of $12.44 and a 52 week high of $31.17. The firm has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.17 and a beta of 0.13. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $15.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $587.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $554.02 million. Comstock Resources had a return on equity of 5.54% and a net margin of 27.18%.Comstock Resources’s revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.18 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Comstock Resources will post 0.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Comstock Resources in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Comstock Resources from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Comstock Resources from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Williams Trading set a $16.00 target price on Comstock Resources in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Comstock Resources in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $18.89.

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.