Morgan Stanley Lowers APA (NASDAQ:APA) Price Target to $41.00

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its target price decreased by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $44.00 to $41.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has an “underweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 24.20% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on APA. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on APA from $26.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on APA from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of APA from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of APA from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of APA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.96.

APA Price Performance

Shares of APA stock traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $33.01. 7,567,703 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,391,444. APA has a fifty-two week low of $17.86 and a fifty-two week high of $45.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $37.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.62. The company has a market cap of $11.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.69 and a beta of 0.33.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.06 earnings per share. APA’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that APA will post 5.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at APA

In related news, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of APA stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total transaction of $392,392.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 66,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,675,072.40. This trade represents a 12.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its holdings in APA by 520.8% during the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 596 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of APA in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Summit Securities Group LLC raised its position in shares of APA by 115.1% during the fourth quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares during the period. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new position in shares of APA during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Community Bank N.A. acquired a new position in shares of APA in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

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.