APA (NASDAQ:APA) Shares Gap Down - What's Next?

Key Points

• APA shares opened sharply lower, falling from a prior close of $42.96 to $41.38 before trading near $41.95.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the stock carries an average “Hold” rating and a $41.50 consensus price target, with recent upgrades from Argus and Weiss Ratings offset by price-target cuts from UBS and Morgan Stanley.
• APA slightly missed quarterly expectations, reporting $1.89 in EPS versus $1.90 expected and revenue of $2.37 billion versus a $2.46 billion consensus estimate; institutional investors nevertheless own 83.01% of the company.

Shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $42.96, but opened at $41.38. APA shares last traded at $41.9490, with a volume of 379,358 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reduced their price target on APA from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on APA from $38.00 to $41.00 in a report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of APA from $44.00 to $41.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Argus upgraded shares of APA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of APA from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $41.50.

APA Stock Performance

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 company has a market cap of $14.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $36.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.98.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last issued 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). APA had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 24.84%. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that APA Corporation will post 5.54 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd grew its position in shares of APA by 36.7% in the first quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 1,229 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of APA by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 106,667 shares of the company's stock worth $2,609,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of APA by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 28,171 shares of the company's stock worth $689,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in APA by 37.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,489 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. Finally, IRON Financial LLC boosted its stake in APA by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 7,279 shares of the company's stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company's stock.

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.

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