NextDecade (NASDAQ:NEXT) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

NextDecade Corporation (NASDAQ:NEXT) shares gapped up before the market opened on Monday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $5.39, but opened at $6.00. NextDecade shares last traded at $5.5450, with a volume of 2,129,789 shares traded.

The company reported ($0.88) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.68) by ($0.20).

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on NEXT. Capital One Financial started coverage on shares of NextDecade in a research note on Friday, February 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $7.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of NextDecade in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of NextDecade from $10.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, NextDecade has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Aerospace Co. Ltd. Hanwha bought 851,971 shares of NextDecade stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $5.83 per share, for a total transaction of $4,966,990.93. Following the purchase, the insider owned 25,620,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,365,894.26. This trade represents a 3.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders acquired 2,979,586 shares of company stock worth $17,588,544 over the last three months. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NextDecade

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in NextDecade by 22,782.4% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 3,873 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of NextDecade in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Comerica Bank boosted its holdings in shares of NextDecade by 88.0% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 4,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NextDecade by 102.2% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 2,002 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in NextDecade during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. 66.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NextDecade Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $5.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.79 and a beta of 2.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.34.

About NextDecade

NextDecade Corporation is a Houston‐based liquefied natural gas (LNG) and decarbonization company focused on the development, engineering, construction and operation of large‐scale LNG export facilities. The company’s core mission is to deliver cleaner energy solutions to global customers while integrating carbon capture and sequestration technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. NextDecade’s projects are designed to leverage abundant U.S. natural gas supplies to meet growing worldwide demand for low‐carbon fuel.

NextDecade’s flagship project, Rio Grande LNG, is located at the Port of Brownsville in southern Texas.