Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK)

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on CRK. Morgan Stanley reissued a “cautious” rating and set a $22.00 price target (up from $21.00) on shares of Comstock Resources in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Comstock Resources from $12.50 to $15.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Williams Trading set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Comstock Resources in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Comstock Resources to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Comstock Resources from $11.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.73.

Comstock Resources Stock Up 5.6 %

Shares of NYSE CRK opened at $21.49 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $18.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.28, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.55. Comstock Resources has a 52-week low of $7.74 and a 52-week high of $22.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.46.

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $366.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $370.62 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Comstock Resources will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comstock Resources

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Comstock Resources in the 4th quarter worth $11,891,000. Corigliano Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Comstock Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,450,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Comstock Resources during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,349,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Comstock Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,329,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in Comstock Resources in the fourth quarter worth $4,430,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.13% of the company’s stock.

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.