Susquehanna Issues Positive Forecast for APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock Price

Key Points

• Susquehanna raised its price target on APA from $37 to $47 and maintained a "positive" rating, implying about a 30% upside from the current price.
• The analyst consensus remains a "Hold" with an average price target of $39.12, reflecting mixed views (7 Buys, 20 Holds, 4 Sells) even as several firms recently lifted their targets.
• APA beat quarterly estimates (EPS $0.91 vs. $0.62; revenue $1.99B vs. $1.89B) despite revenue falling 26.6% year‑over‑year; the stock trades at a P/E of 9.02 with a $12.75B market cap and ~83% institutional ownership.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by equities researchers at Susquehanna from $37.00 to $47.00 in a report released on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a "positive" rating on the stock. Susquehanna's price target indicates a potential upside of 30.27% from the company's current price.

APA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on APA from $35.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Barclays raised APA from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. UBS Group increased their price target on APA from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on APA from $25.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on APA from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $39.12.

APA Stock Up 0.3%

NASDAQ:APA opened at $36.08 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $12.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.02 and a beta of 0.49. APA has a twelve month low of $15.20 and a twelve month high of $45.66.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. APA had a net margin of 15.55% and a return on equity of 19.89%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. Analysts anticipate that APA will post 4.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other APA 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 value of $833,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,634 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $240,349.82. This trade represents a 77.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of APA

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of APA by 6.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 33,300 shares of the company's stock worth $700,000 after buying an additional 2,070 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of APA by 49.6% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,785 shares of the company's stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 3,578 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 43.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,668,505 shares of the company's stock worth $56,092,000 after purchasing an additional 806,252 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in APA by 10.6% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 44,833 shares of the company's stock valued at $942,000 after buying an additional 4,297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in APA during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,199,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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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