Traders Purchase Large Volume of Comstock Resources Call Options (NYSE:CRK)

Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 10,064 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 154% compared to the average daily volume of 3,963 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comstock Resources

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CRK. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Comstock Resources during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Comstock Resources by 140.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 2,400 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Comstock Resources by 804.6% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,958 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 2,631 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Comstock Resources by 225.2% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,359 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 2,326 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Comstock Resources during the fourth quarter valued at about $70,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRK has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley reissued a “cautious” rating and issued a $22.00 price target (up previously from $21.00) on shares of Comstock Resources in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Comstock Resources from $12.50 to $15.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Mizuho upgraded Comstock Resources from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $10.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Comstock Resources from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Comstock Resources to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.73.

Comstock Resources Stock Performance

CRK stock traded up $0.79 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $21.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,937,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,368,865. The stock has a market cap of $6.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.82, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.55. Comstock Resources has a 1 year low of $7.74 and a 1 year high of $22.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $18.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.01.

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $366.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $370.62 million. Comstock Resources had a negative net margin of 18.32% and a negative return on equity of 3.10%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Comstock Resources will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

Comstock Resources Company Profile

Comstock Resources, Inc, an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of natural gas and oil properties in the United States. Its assets are located in the Haynesville and Bossier shales located in North Louisiana and East Texas. The company was incorporated in 1919 and is headquartered in Frisco, Texas.