APA (NASDAQ:APA) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Posted by George Bondi on Jul 29th, 2026

Shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA – Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $36.15, but opened at $34.63. APA shares last traded at $35.77, with a volume of 748,697 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of APA from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of APA from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of APA from $43.00 to $47.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of APA from $26.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of APA from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.35.

View Our Latest Analysis on APA

APA Trading Up 0.5%

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $35.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.34 billion, a PE ratio of 8.14 and a beta of 0.35.

APA (NASDAQ:APA – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.27. APA had a net margin of 17.38% and a return on equity of 20.70%. The firm had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.06 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that APA Corporation will post 4.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.31%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total value of $392,392.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 66,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,675,072.40. This trade represents a 12.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in APA by 1,726.2% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,834,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,176,000 after buying an additional 4,569,779 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 76.9% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,171,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $175,426,000 after buying an additional 3,117,032 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 157.1% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,060,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,970,000 after buying an additional 1,869,891 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of APA by 21.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,425,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,010,000 after acquiring an additional 1,864,900 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of APA by 55.0% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,154,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,309,000 after acquiring an additional 1,473,626 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Company Profile

(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.