APA (NASDAQ:APA) Price Target Raised to $43.00 at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised its price target on APA to $43.00 (from $22.00) but kept an "underweight" rating, with the new target implying roughly a 10.9% upside from the current price.
• Several other firms also lifted targets (e.g., RBC to $45, UBS to $45, Sanford to $37), yet the consensus analyst rating remains Hold with a consensus price target of $39.50.
• APA beat the latest quarter's EPS and revenue estimates (EPS $0.91 vs. $0.62; revenue $1.99B vs. $1.89B), trades near $38.77 with a P/E of 9.73 and a market cap of about $13.7B, and is heavily institutionally owned (~83%).

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $22.00 to $43.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has an "underweight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's target price indicates a potential upside of 10.90% from the company's current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on APA from $29.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on APA from $25.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Capital One Financial cut their target price on APA from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of APA from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of APA from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, APA presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.50.

APA Stock Performance

Shares of APA traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $38.77. 629,420 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,957,286. The business's 50-day moving average price is $36.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. APA has a twelve month low of $15.20 and a twelve month high of $45.66. The company has a market capitalization of $13.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.73 and a beta of 0.49.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.29. APA had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 15.55%.The business had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that APA will post 4.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Matthew Regis Bob sold 23,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total transaction of $833,290.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,634 shares of the company's stock, valued at $240,349.82. This trade represents a 77.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in APA by 76.9% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,171,963 shares of the company's stock valued at $175,426,000 after purchasing an additional 3,117,032 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of APA by 157.1% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,060,135 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,970,000 after buying an additional 1,869,891 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of APA by 21.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,425,586 shares of the company's stock valued at $255,010,000 after buying an additional 1,864,900 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of APA by 13.6% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,030,230 shares of the company's stock valued at $340,657,000 after buying an additional 1,674,739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of APA by 29.6% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,462,476 shares of the company's stock valued at $108,349,000 after buying an additional 1,018,326 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company's stock.

More APA News

Here are the key news stories impacting APA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank sharply raised its earnings forecasts for APA, boosting FY2026 to $6.05 EPS (from $1.10) and FY2027 to $4.90 EPS (from $1.50). The higher model likely reflects improved commodity-price assumptions or production expectations and supports a stronger fundamental outlook, though Scotiabank still carries a "Sector Perform" rating and a $36 price target (which may temper upside).
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks added APA to several Rank #1 (Strong Buy) lists — general strong buy, income-focused, and value-focused lists — which can increase buy-side interest and retail/income-oriented flows into the stock. Article Title Article Title Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several news links referencing "APA" are actually about the American Psychological Association (unrelated to APA Corporation). These are informational but not material to APA Corp.’s oil & gas business. Article Title Article Title Article Title Article Title

About APA

APA Corporation NASDAQ: APA is an independent exploration and production company engaged in the acquisition, development and production of oil and natural gas resources. The company operates through three core regions: the United States, Egypt and the North Sea. Through its integrated approach, APA combines geological and geophysical expertise with technical innovation to identify and develop hydrocarbons in both onshore and offshore settings.

In the United States, APA's largest position is in the Permian Basin of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, where it holds substantial acreage dedicated to oil-focused drilling and production.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.