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

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) shares gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $42.96, but opened at $41.38. APA shares last traded at $41.9490, with a volume of 379,358 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on APA. KeyCorp set a $46.00 price objective on APA in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Citigroup raised their target price on APA from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Weiss Ratings raised APA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Zacks Research lowered shares of APA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of APA from $38.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.50.

APA Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $14.43 billion, a PE ratio of 8.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $36.42 and a 200-day moving average of $36.18.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). APA had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 24.84%. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.87 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that APA Corporation will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APA. Hollencrest Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of APA by 520.8% in the 1st quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of APA during the first quarter worth $28,000. Summit Securities Group LLC increased its holdings in APA by 115.1% in the fourth quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. MidFirst Bank purchased a new position in APA in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Compass Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in APA in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

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.