APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock Price Down 4.7% – Time to Sell?
by Sarita Garza · The Markets DailyAPA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA – Get Free Report) was down 4.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $42.51 and last traded at $41.6690. Approximately 4,443,230 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 7,957,042 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.74.
More APA News
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.
Analyst Ratings Changes
APA has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays upgraded shares of APA from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, March 23rd. UBS Group upped their price target on APA from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on APA from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Stephens raised their price objective on APA from $24.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on APA from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Seven 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.38.
Read Our Latest Research Report on APA
APA Price Performance
The stock has a market capitalization of $14.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.46 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.
APA (NASDAQ:APA – Get Free Report) last posted its 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 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 analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that APA Corporation will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.
APA Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is currently 25.06%.
Insider Activity
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 value of $833,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,634 shares in the company, valued at $240,349.82. This represents a 77.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of APA by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 33,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $700,000 after buying an additional 2,070 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of APA by 49.6% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 3,578 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in APA by 43.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,668,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,092,000 after acquiring an additional 806,252 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in APA by 10.6% in the first 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 boosted its position in APA by 8.2% in the second 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 during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
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.