The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Positive Forecast for APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock Price

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs raised its price target on APA from $23 to $29 but kept a "sell" rating, with the new target implying roughly an 8.9% downside from the prior close.
• Consensus among analysts is a "Hold" with a consensus price target of $29.63 after several firms raised targets (e.g., UBS to $34, Susquehanna to $37); analyst tallies are 7 Buy / 17 Hold / 4 Sell.
• APA beat EPS estimates (quarterly EPS $0.91 vs. $0.62) and reported $1.99B revenue despite a 26.6% YoY revenue decline; the stock trades near $31.82 with a market cap of $11.24 billion and a PE of 7.97.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by The Goldman Sachs Group from $23.00 to $29.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a "sell" rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's price objective suggests a potential downside of 8.86% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on APA. Evercore raised their price target on shares of APA from $21.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. UBS Group increased their price target on APA from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Piper Sandler upped their target price on APA from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Barclays set a $24.00 price target on APA in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of APA from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, APA currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $29.63.

APA Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:APA opened at $31.82 on Wednesday. APA has a 12-month low of $13.58 and a 12-month high of $33.78. The business has a 50 day moving average of $27.34 and a 200-day moving average of $25.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market cap of $11.24 billion, a PE ratio of 7.97, a P/E/G ratio of 16.90 and a beta of 0.67.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.89 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that APA will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of APA. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in APA by 39.2% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 185,873 shares of the company's stock worth $4,547,000 after acquiring an additional 52,376 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of APA during the 4th quarter worth $244,000. Compound Planning Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 45.5% in the 4th quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 15,173 shares of the company's stock worth $371,000 after buying an additional 4,744 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings in APA by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 102,471 shares of the company's stock worth $2,506,000 after buying an additional 12,211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC raised its position in APA by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 144,112 shares of the company's stock worth $3,525,000 after acquiring an additional 15,657 shares during the period. 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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