Piper Sandler Has Lowered Expectations for Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Stock Price

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) had its price objective lowered by research analysts at Piper Sandler from $218.00 to $215.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the oil and natural gas company’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price target indicates a potential upside of 19.09% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Diamondback Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $178.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $173.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Monday, January 19th. Scotiabank set a $175.00 price target on Diamondback Energy in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $194.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $189.00.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

Shares of FANG opened at $180.54 on Thursday. Diamondback Energy has a 12-month low of $114.00 and a 12-month high of $183.36. The business’s fifty day moving average is $161.25 and its 200 day moving average is $151.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $50.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.18 and a beta of 0.59.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.26). The business had revenue of $3.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.41 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 11.07% and a return on equity of 8.08%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.67 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Fang Holdings Lp Sgf sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.88, for a total transaction of $162,880,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 98,686,727 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,074,094,093.76. The trade was a 1.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Charles Alvin Meloy sold 60,605 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.12, for a total transaction of $9,764,677.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 982,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $158,220,806.72. The trade was a 5.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FANG. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 74.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,239,837 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $487,045,000 after acquiring an additional 1,379,010 shares during the last quarter. EnCap Energy Capital Fund XII L.P. purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter worth $169,342,000. Smead Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $144,775,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 38.0% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,798,812 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $543,610,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,398 shares during the period. Finally, Encompass Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $112,198,000. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Diamondback Energy News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler kept an “overweight” rating on FANG and trimmed its price target only slightly (from $218 to $215), signalling continued conviction in upside. Piper Sandler price target note
• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target substantially (to $216) and maintained a “buy” rating, providing another bullish analyst signal that supports further upside. UBS price target raise
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen reiterated a Buy rating with a $195 target, citing disciplined growth, expanding inventory and low breakevens — supportive fundamentals for investors focusing on cash returns and resilience. TD Cowen buy rating
• Positive Sentiment: Market write-ups highlight FANG as one of the energy stocks leading this year’s rally (LNG/export tailwinds and shareholder-friendly cost structures cited), which may attract momentum buyers. Benzinga rally piece
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlights FANG among names to watch as WTI moves above $75, indicating commodity-driven upside potential for upstream producers. Zacks oil price note
• Neutral Sentiment: A short-interest report in the feed appears unreliable (shows zero shares / NaN change), so there’s no clear evidence of a new short squeeze or mounting short pressure to impact the stock today.
• Negative Sentiment: Benchmark Co. downgraded Diamondback from “buy” to “hold,” removing one bullish endorsement and likely contributing to investor caution despite other positive notes. Benchmark downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage pieces (Barron’s) note that some energy names are being downgraded even as oil rallies, a theme that can cap multiple-stock rallies and temper enthusiasm for big rerating moves. Barron’s sector downgrade piece

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.