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

Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock traders acquired 13,647 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 269% compared to the average volume of 3,701 call options.

Comstock Resources Price Performance

NYSE:CRK opened at $18.49 on Friday. Comstock Resources has a 52 week low of $7.74 and a 52 week 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 fifty day moving average is $19.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.21. The company has a market capitalization of $5.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on CRK. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Comstock Resources from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com upgraded Comstock Resources to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Williams Trading set a $13.00 price objective on Comstock Resources in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho upgraded Comstock Resources from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $10.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Comstock Resources from $12.50 to $15.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Comstock Resources presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.36.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Elizabeth B. Davis sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.17, for a total value of $145,360.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 99,632 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,313.44. This trade represents a 7.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 38,000 shares of company stock worth $634,660 over the last quarter. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comstock Resources

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CRK. Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in Comstock Resources by 79.2% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 689,780 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $7,677,000 after purchasing an additional 304,780 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Comstock Resources by 256.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 155,614 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,731,000 after purchasing an additional 111,934 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Comstock Resources by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 170,338 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,896,000 after purchasing an additional 13,998 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Comstock Resources by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,413,820 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $15,736,000 after purchasing an additional 57,376 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Comstock Resources during the 3rd quarter worth about $419,000. 36.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Comstock Resources

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.