APA Corporation Gets Buy Upgrade From Roth Capital With 14% Upside
Roth Capital lifted APA from Neutral to Buy, citing cheaper oil stocks and crude prices nearing a short-term floor.
If you've been watching oil stocks take a beating lately, Roth Capital thinks the worst might be just about over — at least in the short term. The investment firm just upgraded APA Corporation (NASDAQ: APA) from Neutral to Buy, bumping its price target slightly from $37 to $38. That new target implies a little more than 14% upside from where the stock was trading when the call was made.
So what's behind the bullish call? Roth Capital's thinking is pretty straightforward: global crude prices appear to be approaching a short-term bottom, and a lot of oil exploration and production stocks have quietly become much cheaper. We're talking about names that have already dropped 15% to 25% from their highs this year — which, in analyst-speak, means the bad news may already be priced in.
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APA itself is an independent energy company that explores, develops, and produces natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids. It's not just a pure price-of-oil bet, either — the company currently offers an annual dividend yield of nearly 3%, which gives income-focused investors a reason to stick around even if crude prices stay choppy for a while.
For everyday investors, this kind of upgrade is worth paying attention to, but it's not a buy signal on its own. Analyst price targets shift constantly, and the energy sector is notoriously sensitive to macro forces — geopolitics, OPEC decisions, and demand data can all flip the script quickly. That said, if Roth Capital's read on crude prices finding a floor proves correct, beaten-down E&P stocks like APA could have meaningful room to recover.
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