APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

by · The Markets Daily

APA (NASDAQ:APA – Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports. Zacks Research also issued estimates for APA’s Q3 2026 earnings at $0.56 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.50 EPS and Q3 2027 earnings at $0.56 EPS.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of APA from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of APA from $21.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on APA from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Barclays set a $24.00 target price on APA in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on APA from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.39.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on APA

APA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ APA traded down $1.04 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $25.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,866,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,533,642. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. APA has a 52 week low of $13.58 and a 52 week high of $27.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $25.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.05 billion, a PE ratio of 6.12, a P/E/G ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 0.74.

APA (NASDAQ:APA – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.19. APA had a return on equity of 19.86% and a net margin of 15.49%.The company had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that APA will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its position in shares of APA by 276.7% during the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in APA during the third quarter worth $34,000. Spire Wealth Management increased its position in APA by 179.6% during the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 977 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. bought a new position in APA during the third quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of APA by 6,096.7% in the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,829 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More APA News

Here are the key news stories impacting APA this week:

  • Positive Sentiment: Company-reported positives — APA repurchased 2.7 million shares in 4Q25 at an average $24.17 and reported a pre-tax net gain of $193 million on oil & gas purchases/sales, supporting shareholder value and liquidity. QuiverQuant bulletin
  • Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan trimmed its price target to $25 and kept a neutral rating — a modest PT cut that signals limited upside from recent levels. MarketScreener
  • Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies raised its target to $22 and maintains a hold — another relatively muted analyst view that keeps expectations around current levels. MarketScreener
  • Negative Sentiment: Zacks downgraded APA from Hold to Strong Sell and trimmed near-term EPS estimates — a steep sell-side view that increases downside pressure and may prompt selling by quantitatively driven funds. Zacks.com
  • Negative Sentiment: Barclays reaffirmed an underweight stance (downgrade coverage) — another influential bank signaling limited conviction, adding to negative sentiment. MSN/coverage
  • Negative Sentiment: Goldman raised its PT to $23 but kept a Sell rating — the maintained sell call reinforces downside expectations from a major sell-side voice. MarketScreener
  • Negative Sentiment: Operational headwinds disclosed in APA’s 4Q25 supplemental info — the company curtailed ~91 MMcf/d of U.S. gas and ~7,600 b/d of NGLs due to weak hub prices and recorded $36M of transaction/reorganization costs; these factors directly weigh on near-term results. GlobeNewswire

About APA

(Get Free Report)

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.

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