NextDecade (NASDAQ:NEXT) Trading Up 8.5% – Here’s Why

Shares of NextDecade Corporation (NASDAQ:NEXT) shot up 8.5% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $7.15 and last traded at $7.11. 3,080,009 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 19% from the average session volume of 2,584,492 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.55.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on NEXT. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of NextDecade to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of NextDecade in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Zacks Research raised shares of NextDecade from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Cowen cut shares of NextDecade from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $8.00 target price (down previously from $11.00) on shares of NextDecade in a research report on Monday, September 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.00.

NextDecade Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $9.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77. The company has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.03 and a beta of 1.78.

NextDecade (NASDAQ:NEXT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.23). As a group, equities research analysts predict that NextDecade Corporation will post -0.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at NextDecade

In other news, major shareholder Aerospace Co. Ltd. Hanwha acquired 551,819 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $6.99 per share, with a total value of $3,857,214.81. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 18,088,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $126,436,427.13. This represents a 3.15% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Matthew K. Schatzman acquired 281,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $7.14 per share, with a total value of $2,009,910.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,246,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,458,696.24. This trade represents a 5.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 1,654,850 shares of company stock worth $11,611,592. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of NextDecade

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in NextDecade by 137.2% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,886 shares during the period. Comerica Bank increased its position in NextDecade by 88.0% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 4,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in NextDecade by 102.2% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,002 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in NextDecade during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in NextDecade by 21,395.5% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 4,707 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.74% of the company’s stock.

About NextDecade

NextDecade Corp. is a development company.