APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Stephens Analyst Says

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its price target hoisted by investment analysts at Stephens from $24.00 to $45.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Stephens’ target price suggests a potential upside of 7.60% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of APA in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on APA from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Scotiabank upgraded APA to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Susquehanna upped their price objective on APA from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their price objective on APA from $39.00 to $45.00 in a report on Monday, March 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, APA currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.38.

APA Stock Down 4.4%

NASDAQ APA traded down $1.92 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $41.82. 8,776,075 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,044,308. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $14.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.47 and a beta of 0.67. The company’s 50-day moving average is $31.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.68. APA has a one year low of $13.58 and a one year high of $45.66.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.29. APA had a net margin of 15.55% and a return on equity of 19.89%. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that APA will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Matthew Regis Bob sold 23,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total transaction of $833,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,634 shares in the company, valued at $240,349.82. This represents a 77.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of APA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in APA by 6.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 33,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $700,000 after acquiring an additional 2,070 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in APA by 49.6% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 3,578 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of APA by 43.3% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,668,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,092,000 after purchasing an additional 806,252 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in shares of APA by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 44,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $942,000 after purchasing an additional 4,297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of APA by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 71,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,308,000 after purchasing an additional 5,439 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting APA

Here are the key news stories impacting APA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target sharply from $25 to $45, signaling greater upside potential from current levels even though the firm kept a “neutral” rating. This target lift can support buying interest. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple bullish retail-facing write-ups and buy-case summaries (Yahoo, InsiderMonkey, MSN) are circulating, which can attract retail demand and short-term momentum traders. Is APA a Good Stock To Buy Now? (Yahoo) Is APA a Good Stock To Buy Now? (InsiderMonkey) Is APA a Good Stock to Buy Now? (MSN)
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research nudged its FY2028 EPS estimate slightly higher (from $2.64 to $2.69) but retains a “Hold” rating — a modest fundamental tweak that is unlikely to move the stock materially on its own. Zacks / MarketBeat note
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage includes articles referencing other organizations named “APA” (a solar manufacturer expansion and the American Planning Association’s trend report). Those unrelated stories can create noise in headlines but do not materially affect APA Corporation’s oil & gas fundamentals. APA Solar expands manufacturing campus Everything you Need to Know from the APA’s 2026 Trend Report
• Negative Sentiment: Major sell-side sentiment remains cautious—several analysts maintain “hold”/”neutral” ratings despite some target increases. That conservative institutional stance can cap upside and encourage short-term selling, especially after APA’s recent run toward its 52-week high. See Citigroup and Zacks notes above.

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.