Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 296,392 Shares of Nextpower Inc. $NXT

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group cut its Nextpower stake by 37% in Q4, selling 296,392 shares and ending the quarter with 504,444 shares worth about $43.9 million.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with several firms adding to positions and institutions collectively holding 67.41% of Nextpower’s stock.
• Insider selling and bullish analyst sentiment both stood out: CEO Daniel S. Shugar sold 59,456 shares, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy with an average price target of $117.79.

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Nextpower Inc. (NASDAQ:NXT - Free Report) by 37.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 504,444 shares of the company's stock after selling 296,392 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.34% of Nextpower worth $43,942,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NXT. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Nextpower during the third quarter valued at approximately $108,739,000. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Nextpower by 156.1% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 2,111,628 shares of the company's stock worth $161,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,287,071 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in shares of Nextpower by 938.0% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 794,538 shares of the company's stock worth $58,788,000 after purchasing an additional 717,991 shares during the period. Electron Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Nextpower by 2,017.7% in the third quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 566,415 shares of the company's stock worth $41,909,000 after purchasing an additional 539,668 shares during the period. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Nextpower in the third quarter worth approximately $33,298,000. 67.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Nextpower

In other news, CEO Daniel S. Shugar sold 59,456 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.17, for a total value of $6,252,987.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 746,339 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $78,492,472.63. The trade was a 7.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Nextpower Stock Performance

NXT stock opened at $125.91 on Friday. Nextpower Inc. has a one year low of $44.75 and a one year high of $131.72. The company's fifty day moving average price is $114.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.61. The company has a market capitalization of $18.70 billion, a PE ratio of 32.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.60.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on NXT. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Nextpower from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Nextpower in a research report on Friday, March 13th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $104.00 price target on shares of Nextpower in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Glj Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $147.33 price target on shares of Nextpower in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Nextpower in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $117.79.

Nextpower Company 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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