APA (NASDAQ:APA) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $41.35, but opened at $43.58. APA shares last traded at $43.2240, with a volume of 1,114,736 shares traded.

Key Stories Impacting APA

Here are the key news stories impacting APA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised its Q1 FY2028 EPS estimate slightly (from $1.22 to $1.24), signaling modest upward revisions to near-term profitability expectations; Zacks still carries a “Hold” rating. Zacks Research Brokers Increase Earnings Estimates for APA
• Positive Sentiment: Stephens published a bullish outlook forecasting strong price appreciation for APA, which could attract investors if the firm’s execution and oil & gas price environment remain supportive. Stephens Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst consensus remains a “Hold” — 31 firms cover APA (4 sell, 20 hold, 7 buy) — implying limited near-term conviction and suggesting upside depends on execution and commodity moves rather than fresh analyst-driven momentum. APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages
• Neutral Sentiment: Other analyst notes summarize updated FY2028 expectations but show no material consensus upgrade to a buy; the street still models roughly $4.03 for full-year EPS. Equities Analysts Set Expectations for APA FY2028 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: A local-interest article titled “Fun, Fellowship and Family – APA Is Bringing People Together” appears unrelated to APA Corporation’s oil & gas operations and is unlikely to move the stock. Fun, Fellowship and Family – APA Is Bringing People Together

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank upgraded APA to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on APA from $31.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on APA from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on APA from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research upped their price objective on shares of APA from $39.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.38.

APA Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $32.35 and a 200 day moving average of $27.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $14.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 0.49.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. APA had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 15.55%.The company’s revenue was down 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that APA Corporation will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. APA’s payout ratio is presently 25.06%.

Insider Transactions at APA

In other APA news, Director Matthew Regis Bob sold 23,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total transaction of $833,290.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,634 shares in the company, valued at $240,349.82. This trade represents a 77.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in APA. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in APA by 76.9% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,171,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $175,426,000 after purchasing an additional 3,117,032 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of APA by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,425,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,010,000 after buying an additional 1,864,900 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake 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 buying an additional 1,674,739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of APA by 29.6% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,462,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,349,000 after buying an additional 1,018,326 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

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.