APA Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:APA)

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders bought 53,064 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 181% compared to the typical daily volume of 18,910 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APA has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of APA in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Raymond James cut their price target on APA from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on APA from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays dropped their price objective on APA from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of APA from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.20.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. American National Bank raised its stake in shares of APA by 208.5% in the 1st quarter. American National Bank now owns 725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of APA during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of APA by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of APA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of APA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:APA opened at $30.88 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. APA has a twelve month low of $28.90 and a twelve month high of $46.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 3.29.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. APA had a net margin of 34.04% and a return on equity of 45.32%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that APA will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Company Profile

APA Corporation, an independent energy company, explores for, develops, and produces natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids. It has oil and gas operations in the United States, Egypt, and North Sea. The company also has exploration and appraisal activities in Suriname, as well as holds interests in projects located in Uruguay and internationally.