Truist Financial Issues Pessimistic Forecast for APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock Price

Key Points

• Truist Financial lowered its price target on APA from $39 to $38 while keeping a hold rating, implying about 15% upside from the prior close.
• APA’s broader analyst outlook remains cautious: the stock has a consensus hold rating with an average target price of $40.85, and other firms recently mixed their calls and price targets.
• The shares were trading around $33.05 on Friday, below the average target, while the company also reported solid recent quarterly results with EPS and revenue beating estimates.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by equities research analysts at Truist Financial from $39.00 to $38.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "hold" rating on the stock. Truist Financial's target price would suggest a potential upside of 14.99% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered APA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on APA from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of APA from $43.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of APA from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of APA from $45.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.85.

APA Stock Down 0.7%

APA stock traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $33.05. The stock had a trading volume of 1,089,222 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,249,533. The stock has a market cap of $11.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.70 and a beta of 0.35. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $36.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. APA has a 12 month low of $17.86 and a 12 month high of $45.66.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.27. APA had a net margin of 17.38% and a return on equity of 20.70%. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.06 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that APA will post 5.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at APA

In other news, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of APA stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total transaction of $392,392.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 66,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,675,072.40. The trade was a 12.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hollencrest Capital Management grew its stake in shares of APA by 520.8% during the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 596 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of APA during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Summit Securities Group LLC grew its position in APA by 115.1% in the fourth quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new position in shares of APA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Community Bank N.A. acquired a new position in APA during the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.