Comstock Resources Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:CRK)

Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders purchased 10,542 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 334% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,428 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Star Exploration Corp Blue bought 12,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.04 per share, for a total transaction of $100,500,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 194,821,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,566,364,289.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comstock Resources

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRK. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Comstock Resources by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,829,100 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $95,838,000 after acquiring an additional 34,231 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Comstock Resources by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,466,851 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $12,982,000 after buying an additional 222,803 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC grew its position in Comstock Resources by 537.8% during the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 64,197 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $568,000 after buying an additional 54,132 shares during the period. Readystate Asset Management LP grew its position in Comstock Resources by 718.7% during the fourth quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP now owns 603,846 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,344,000 after buying an additional 530,090 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in Comstock Resources by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 339,960 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,009,000 after buying an additional 13,474 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 36.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRK has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Comstock Resources to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Comstock Resources from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Siebert Williams Shank initiated coverage on shares of Comstock Resources in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $10.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Comstock Resources from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Comstock Resources from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.17.

Comstock Resources Price Performance

CRK stock opened at $9.26 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. Comstock Resources has a 52 week low of $7.07 and a 52 week high of $13.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $8.07 and its 200 day moving average is $9.69. The firm has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 0.69.

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $410.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $401.97 million. Comstock Resources had a return on equity of 5.65% and a net margin of 13.49%. Comstock Resources’s revenue was down 55.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.05 EPS. Research analysts predict that Comstock Resources will post 0.46 earnings per share 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.