Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Receives “Equal Weight” Rating from Morgan Stanley

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reaffirmed by Morgan Stanley in a research note issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $216.00 price objective on the oil and natural gas company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential upside of 1.85% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $206.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Diamondback Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $232.00 to $221.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.75.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Diamondback Energy stock traded up $2.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $212.08. The stock had a trading volume of 81,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,600,213. Diamondback Energy has a 52-week low of $134.30 and a 52-week high of $214.51. The company has a market capitalization of $59.39 billion, a PE ratio of 41.40 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $190.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $188.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $6.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.08 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $5.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 8.58% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The company’s revenue was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.38 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy will post 19.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diamondback Energy

In other news, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.50, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 13,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,640,370.50. This represents a 3.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles Alvin Meloy sold 83,334 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.12, for a total transaction of $15,593,458.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 851,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $159,338,293.60. The trade was a 8.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 129,167 shares of company stock valued at $24,714,309. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FANG. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 18.2% in the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,272 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $9,618,000 after purchasing an additional 8,193 shares during the last quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,619,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 19.7% during the 2nd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 139,783 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $24,571,000 after purchasing an additional 22,961 shares during the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 31.5% during the 2nd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 2,242 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 537 shares during the period. Finally, Impala Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 90.0% during the 2nd quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC now owns 19,000 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $3,340,000 after buying an additional 9,000 shares during the period. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Diamondback Energy News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Diamondback Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised its Q2 2028 EPS forecast to $4.37 from $3.51 and lifted its FY2028 estimate to $15.37 from $14.83, indicating improved longer-term earnings expectations.
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage has highlighted Diamondback’s participation in pipeline projects, including the Permian-to-Katy gas pipeline and the Solitude Pipeline venture. These investments could improve takeaway capacity, expand midstream-related opportunities and support future growth. How Diamondback’s Permian-to-Katy Gas Pipeline Bet Has Changed Its Investment Story Is Diamondback Energy Undervalued As It Joins The Solitude Pipeline Venture?
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the estimate changes, Zacks maintained a Hold rating. The company’s prior quarterly results also showed strong momentum, with earnings and revenue exceeding consensus estimates, but future results remain sensitive to oil and natural-gas prices.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks reduced its FY2026 EPS forecast to $16.52 from $18.11 and cut Q3 2026 EPS to $2.70 from $4.32 and Q4 2026 EPS to $3.11 from $4.19.
• Negative Sentiment: Forecasts were also lowered for FY2027 EPS to $14.95 from $16.42, Q1 2027 to $4.27 from $4.31, and Q4 2027 to $3.08 from $3.87. Q1 2028 was reduced to $3.12 from $3.57, while Q2 2027 and Q3 2027 estimates were cut to $3.77 and $3.83, respectively.

About Diamondback Energy

Diamondback Energy, Inc (NASDAQ: FANG) is an independent oil and natural gas company focused on the development, exploration and production of unconventional resources in the Permian Basin. Headquartered in Midland, Texas, the company concentrates its operations in the core Midland and Delaware sub‑basins of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, where it pursues contiguous acreage positions to support repeatable drilling programs.

Diamondback’s activities span the upstream value chain, including leasehold acquisition, well planning, drilling, completion and production optimization.