Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its target price lifted by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $21.00 to $39.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 0.96% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on APA. Roth Mkm upped their target price on APA from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. TD Cowen upgraded APA to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on APA from $35.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Mizuho raised their target price on APA from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on APA from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.23.

APA Price Performance

NASDAQ APA opened at $38.63 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $33.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $13.65 billion, a PE ratio of 9.68 and a beta of 0.49. APA has a 1 year low of $14.10 and a 1 year high of $45.66.

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

Insider Transactions at APA

In other news, Director Matthew Regis Bob sold 23,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total transaction of $833,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $240,349.82. This represents a 77.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its position in shares of APA by 276.7% in the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC boosted its position in shares of APA by 115.1% during the 4th quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in shares of APA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of APA by 179.6% during the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new stake in shares of APA during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Key APA News

Here are the key news stories impacting APA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital raised its outlook and lifted its price target on APA to $47 (from $35), citing updated Q1 modeling and geopolitical oil risk that could support higher prices — a constructive change for medium-term valuation. BMO Capital Raises APA Outlook as Oil Hinges on Iran Conflict Outcome
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target on APA to $39 and reiterated an equal-weight rating, signaling analysts are more optimistic about APA’s earnings power and cash returns at higher oil scenarios. This gives upside support to the stock despite the firm’s cautious rating. Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock Price
• Neutral Sentiment: Another note flagged a $47 price target increase (coverage overlap across outlets); these analyst moves improve sentiment but are not unanimous upgrades to “buy,” so impact may be muted unless followed by upgrades from more firms. APA (NASDAQ:APA) Price Target Raised to $47.00
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reporting shows zero shares short (short-interest ratio 0.0 days) as of April 10 — this appears to be a data anomaly and suggests short positioning is not a meaningful near-term factor. (No external link.)
• Negative Sentiment: APA shares fell sharply after crude oil plunged when the U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week suspension of attacks; the rapid drop in oil prices hit energy names hard and was the proximate cause of APA’s intraday tumble. This commodity-driven move can overwhelm company-specific positives in the short term. APA Corp. (APA) Tumbles 9.8% on Double-Digit Oil Plunge

About APA

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.