Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock Price

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised APA’s price target from $41 to $43 but maintained an “underweight” rating, implying roughly 9.2% downside from the stock’s $47.36 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and average price target of $44.38; targets from other firms range from $39 to $49.
• APA authorized a buyback of up to 40 million shares, while its latest quarterly results narrowly missed earnings and revenue estimates. Institutional investors own approximately 83% of the company.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by Morgan Stanley from $41.00 to $43.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "underweight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's target price would indicate a potential downside of 9.21% from the company's current price.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Roth Capital set a $39.00 price objective on shares of APA in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. KeyCorp set a $46.00 target price on shares of APA in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of APA in a report on Wednesday. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $44.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on APA from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on APA from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $44.38.

APA Stock Performance

APA stock traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $47.36. The stock had a trading volume of 962,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,663,473. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.15. APA has a 52-week low of $21.63 and a 52-week high of $48.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $16.59 billion, a PE ratio of 10.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.42.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. APA had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 24.84%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that APA will post 5.79 EPS for the current year.

APA declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, September 16th that allows the company to repurchase 40,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of APA in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,173,231,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in APA by 1,726.2% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,834,502 shares of the company's stock valued at $205,176,000 after acquiring an additional 4,569,779 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in APA during the 2nd quarter valued at about $134,558,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in APA by 240.5% during the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,662,794 shares of the company's stock worth $86,727,000 after purchasing an additional 1,880,674 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of APA by 55.0% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,154,301 shares of the company's stock worth $176,309,000 after purchasing an additional 1,473,626 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company's stock.

APA Company Profile

APA Corporation NASDAQ: APA is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company's activities include identifying prospective resources, drilling and completing wells, and managing producing assets across multiple international markets.

APA's operations have historically been concentrated in the Permian Basin of the United States and in Egypt's Western Desert, where it participates in exploration and production activities through joint ventures.

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