NextDecade Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:NEXT)

NextDecade Corporation (NASDAQ:NEXT) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 17,494 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 203% compared to the typical daily volume of 5,776 call options.

NextDecade Stock Performance

Shares of NEXT stock opened at $7.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.54. NextDecade has a 52 week low of $4.75 and a 52 week high of $12.12. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $5.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.06. The company has a market capitalization of $1.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.22 and a beta of 2.02.

NextDecade (NASDAQ:NEXT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.88) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.68) by ($0.20). On average, analysts expect that NextDecade will post -0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of NextDecade

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NEXT. Comerica Bank grew its position in NextDecade by 88.0% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 4,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in NextDecade during the 1st quarter worth about $386,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in NextDecade by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,404,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,929,000 after buying an additional 128,568 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in shares of NextDecade in the 1st quarter valued at about $185,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of NextDecade by 13.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 277,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,157,000 after acquiring an additional 33,941 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NEXT. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of NextDecade from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Capital One Financial started coverage on shares of NextDecade in a report on Friday, February 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $7.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of NextDecade in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on NextDecade from $10.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NextDecade currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.67.

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.