The Goldman Sachs Group Increases APA (NASDAQ:APA) Price Target to $23.00

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its price target hoisted by analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $21.00 to $23.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a “sell” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target suggests a potential downside of 11.50% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on APA. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of APA from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on APA from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Johnson Rice raised APA from a “hold” rating to an “accumulate” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $40.00 in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Capital One Financial decreased their price target on APA from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on APA from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.39.

APA Stock Performance

Shares of APA stock opened at $25.99 on Thursday. APA has a 12-month low of $13.58 and a 12-month high of $27.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.03.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. APA had a return on equity of 19.86% and a net margin of 15.49%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that APA will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of APA. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in APA by 157.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,060,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,970,000 after buying an additional 1,869,891 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of APA by 13.6% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,030,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,657,000 after acquiring an additional 1,674,739 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of APA by 29.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,462,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,349,000 after acquiring an additional 1,018,326 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in APA by 7,627.3% in the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,013,516 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,608,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,400 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in APA by 160.5% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 336,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,165,000 after purchasing an additional 892,438 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting APA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management repurchased 2.7 million shares in 4Q25 at an average price of $24.17, reducing float and signaling confidence — a clear buyback-driven support for the stock. QuiverQuant: APA Provides Supplemental Info
• Positive Sentiment: Company disclosed a $193 million pre-tax net gain on oil & gas purchases/sales and stronger international realized prices (oil/NGL), which improve near-term cash flow visibility vs. U.S. price weakness. QuiverQuant: APA Provides Supplemental Info
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research made very small quarter-by-quarter EPS tweaks (minor raises for some quarters, a slight trim for Q4) but maintained a “Strong Sell” rating — the estimate moves themselves are immaterial for near-term stock direction. MarketBeat / Zacks Research
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded APA from “Hold” to “Strong Sell,” which can drive selling pressure and influence other funds’ positioning. Zacks.com
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays reaffirmed an “Underweight” rating, adding to negative analyst sentiment that may limit upside despite the stock bounce. The Fly: Barclays Reaffirms Underweight
• Negative Sentiment: APA curtailed ~91 MMcf/d of U.S. natural gas and 7,600 b/d of NGL production in 4Q25 due to weak hub prices and recorded $36M of transaction/reorganization/separation costs — both pressures on near-term earnings. QuiverQuant: APA Provides Supplemental Info
• Negative Sentiment: Earnings previews point to a double-digit earnings contraction in the upcoming quarterly report, which is a fundamental downside risk ahead of the Feb. 26 earnings call. Barchart: APA Earnings Preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies raised its price target modestly to $22 and kept a “Hold” rating — a small technical positive but still below the current share price, so its market impact is limited. MarketScreener: Jefferies Adjusts PT

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.