Evercore Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its price target raised by stock analysts at Evercore from $25.00 to $40.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Evercore’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 2.49% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on APA. Capital One Financial raised their target price on shares of APA from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of APA from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of APA in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on APA from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on APA from $29.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Seven research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, APA presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.69.

APA Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of APA stock opened at $39.03 on Tuesday. APA has a 1-year low of $13.58 and a 1-year high of $39.51. The company has a market capitalization of $13.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.78 and a beta of 0.67. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $29.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.29. APA had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 15.55%.The company had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that APA will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Matthew Regis Bob sold 23,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $240,349.82. This represents a 77.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 6.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 33,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $700,000 after purchasing an additional 2,070 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of APA by 49.6% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 3,578 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in APA by 43.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,668,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,092,000 after buying an additional 806,252 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in APA by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 44,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $942,000 after acquiring an additional 4,297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its stake in APA by 101.6% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 141,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,593,000 after acquiring an additional 71,451 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting APA

Here are the key news stories impacting APA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays upgraded APA from “underweight” to “equal weight” citing a better gas?marketing outlook and LNG?linked price contracts — a catalyst investors see as supporting near?term cash flow and contract upside. Barclays upgrades APA stock rating on gas marketing outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Another note raised APA’s price target to $38.00, reflecting some analysts updating models after recent strength — this supports arguments that analyst estimates are moving higher. APA (NASDAQ:APA) Price Target Raised to $38.00
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage piece examines whether APA’s recent multi?year run (YTD and 1?year gains large) leaves value fully priced; useful context for investors weighing further upside vs. valuation risk. Is It Too Late To Consider APA (APA) After Its Strong Multi?Year Share Price Run?
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical/trader commentary highlights APA’s strong uptrend and notes that momentum reversals would be used as exit signals by some traders — relevant for short?term trading decisions. Stock Of The Day: When Will APA Corp Reverse?
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short interest data is effectively zero in the latest print (appears anomalous); low reported shorts would limit short?squeeze dynamics but may reflect reporting quirks — treat as uncertain.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling reported: an APA director sold roughly $833k of stock, which can be interpreted as a near?term negative signal for sentiment among insiders. Insider Selling: APA (NASDAQ:APA) Director Sells $833,290.00 in Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman Sachs raised its price target to $30 but kept a “sell” rating, and Barclays’ $35 target also sits below the current share price — these conservative targets and lingering sell ratings signal continued analyst caution and cap upside in some models. Goldman Sachs adjusts APA’s price target to $30 from $29, keeps sell rating

APA Company Profile

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.