Groupe la Francaise Buys 17,127 Shares of Nextpower Inc. $NXT

Key Points

• Groupe la Française increased its Nextpower stake by 60.1% in the second quarter, purchasing 17,127 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 45,646 shares valued at approximately $5.44 million. Institutional investors collectively own 67.41% of the company.
• Nextpower reported quarterly EPS of $1.20, exceeding estimates of $1.05, while revenue reached $935.17 million. However, the stock opened at $84.50, well below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $146.12 price target, although several firms recently reduced their targets. Meanwhile, company insiders sold roughly $10.04 million of stock over the past three months.

Groupe la Francaise grew its stake in Nextpower Inc. (NASDAQ:NXT - Free Report) by 60.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 45,646 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 17,127 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise's holdings in Nextpower were worth $5,441,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Nextpower by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 26,706 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,326,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nextpower by 30.0% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 446 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Signature Equity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nextpower by 76.4% during the first quarter. Signature Equity Partners LLC now owns 261 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nextpower by 2.0% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,963 shares of the company's stock worth $719,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nextpower by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,314 shares of the company's stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.41% of the company's stock.

Nextpower Price Performance

NASDAQ NXT opened at $84.50 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.82 billion, a PE ratio of 21.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.92. The stock's 50 day moving average is $98.65 and its 200 day moving average is $112.98. Nextpower Inc. has a twelve month low of $64.30 and a twelve month high of $163.13.

Nextpower (NASDAQ:NXT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $935.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $935.39 million. Nextpower had a net margin of 16.36% and a return on equity of 26.29%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Nextpower Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on NXT. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Nextpower from $145.00 to $132.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Glj Research restated a "buy" rating and issued a $149.00 price objective on shares of Nextpower in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Nextpower from $168.00 to $157.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Nextpower from $179.00 to $152.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Nextpower from a "hold" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $132.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $146.12.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Julia Blunden sold 3,723 shares of Nextpower stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.08, for a total value of $327,921.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,434 shares of the company's stock, valued at $566,706.72. The trade was a 36.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel Shugar sold 67,636 shares of Nextpower stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.07, for a total transaction of $6,971,242.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 871,131 shares of the company's stock, valued at $89,787,472.17. This trade represents a 7.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 100,431 shares of company stock valued at $10,039,748. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Nextpower Profile

Nextpower, formerly known as Nextracker, is traded on NASDAQ under the symbol NXT and is a leading provider of advanced solar tracking solutions for utility-scale and distributed energy projects. The company specializes in the design, engineering and manufacturing of single-axis tracker systems that optimize the capture of solar energy by following the sun’s trajectory throughout the day. Nextpower’s core hardware offerings aim to enhance energy yield, reduce balance-of-system costs and simplify installation and maintenance for downstream solar developers and operators.

In addition to its tracker hardware, Nextpower provides a suite of digital software and analytics tools to maximize asset performance.

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