APA Stock Rises After Reports Of Workforce Reduction, Retail’s Divided

APA Corp (APA) stock rose 3.2% on Wednesday after the company said it laid off about 300 employees earlier this year.

The oil and gas producer told Bloomberg that it made the layoffs in January and February. The job cuts amount to between 10% and 15% of the company’s more than 2,300-person workforce worldwide.

“APA has undertaken a comprehensive organizational review and is implementing changes to reduce its overall cost structure and ensure long-term competitiveness,” spokesperson Castlen Kennedy said to Bloomberg.

Earlier this year, oil majors BP and Chevron announced layoffs to trim costs amid volatility in the commodity markets.

Oil prices have been pressured this year on demand woes and the decision of the OPEC+ producer group to bring back some of the idled capacity.

APA had missed Wall Street’s estimates for fourth-quarter profit in February.

The company also unveiled significant cost reduction initiatives and said it aims to achieve at least $350 million in sustainable annual savings by the end of 2027.

The Houston-based company forecasted 2025 oil and gas capital investments between $2.5 and $2.6 billion.

On Wednesday, Goldman Sachs also raised the price target on APA to $23 from $22, as per The Fly, following the company’s fourth-quarter earnings and executive commentary on progress on the optimization of legacy Callon assets and its longer-term cost reduction initiatives.

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits moved to ‘neutral’ (45/100) territory from ‘bearish’(43/100) a day ago, while retail chatter was ‘low.’

One bullish investor said that the stock was about to go up.

Earlier this week, APA and its partners struck oil at the Sockeye-2 well in Alaska.

APA shares have fallen 9.8% year-to-date (YTD).

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