Morgan Stanley Cuts APA (NASDAQ:APA) Price Target to $22.00

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has reduced its price target for APA Corporation from $23.00 to $22.00, maintaining an "underweight" rating, which suggests a potential downside of 4.95% from the stock's previous close.
• Other analysts have varied opinions, with Cowen maintaining a "hold" rating, Wells Fargo raising its price target to $21.00, and Roth Capital downgrading APA from "buy" to "neutral" while also setting a price target of $22.00.
• APA's recent quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $0.87, significantly beating analyst expectations, although its revenue declined by 14.4% year-over-year.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $23.00 to $22.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "underweight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's price target would indicate a potential downside of 4.95% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on APA. Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of APA in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of APA from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of APA in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Roth Capital lowered shares of APA from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $22.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on shares of APA in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $24.00.

APA Stock Up 1.4%

NASDAQ:APA traded up $0.33 on Tuesday, hitting $23.15. The stock had a trading volume of 1,886,945 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,806,042. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $8.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.31 and a beta of 1.16. APA has a 1 year low of $13.58 and a 1 year high of $25.83. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $22.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.52.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. APA had a net margin of 10.53% and a return on equity of 20.98%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.17 EPS. Analysts predict that APA will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in APA by 2,709.8% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,433 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,382 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in APA by 499.2% in the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,546 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,288 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in APA by 144.9% in the 2nd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,866 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 1,104 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in APA by 6,096.7% in the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,859 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 1,829 shares during the period. Finally, MAI Capital Management boosted its holdings in APA by 76.5% in the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 2,134 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 925 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About APA

APA Corporation, an independent energy company, explores for, develops, and produces natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids. It has oil and gas operations in the United States, Egypt, and North Sea. The company also has exploration and appraisal activities in Suriname, as well as holds interests in projects located in Uruguay and internationally.

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