NextDecade (NASDAQ:NEXT) Shares Down 4.6% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Shares fell about 4.6% to roughly $5.13 on Tuesday (low $5.17), with trading volume down ~84% versus the stock's average daily volume.
• Analysts have trimmed targets and ratings recently; the consensus rating is "Hold" with an average price target of $8.50 after cuts from firms including TD Cowen and Morgan Stanley.
• Fundamentals are pressured — NextDecade missed quarterly EPS (−$0.42 vs. −$0.32 expected), has high leverage (debt-to-equity 3.34) and low liquidity (current ratio 0.64) — although major shareholder Hanwha bought 851,971 shares at about $5.83 recently.

NextDecade Corporation (NASDAQ:NEXT - Get Free Report) shares were down 4.6% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $5.17 and last traded at $5.1330. Approximately 231,528 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 1,403,640 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.38.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen dropped their target price on NextDecade from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $10.00 price objective (down previously from $15.00) on shares of NextDecade in a report on Friday, September 12th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of NextDecade from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Cowen downgraded shares of NextDecade from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of NextDecade in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $8.50.

NextDecade Stock Down 4.9%

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $5.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $7.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.34, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.02 and a beta of 1.97.

NextDecade (NASDAQ:NEXT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported ($0.42) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.32) by ($0.10). As a group, equities analysts predict that NextDecade Corporation will post -0.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Aerospace Co. Ltd. Hanwha acquired 851,971 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $5.83 per share, for a total transaction of $4,966,990.93. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 25,620,222 shares in the company, valued at $149,365,894.26. This trade represents a 3.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 7,177,861 shares of company stock worth $42,393,247. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NextDecade

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of NextDecade by 22,782.4% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,890 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 3,873 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. acquired a new stake in NextDecade in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Comerica Bank raised its stake 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 buying an additional 1,900 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in shares of NextDecade by 102.2% in the second 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 last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in NextDecade during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. 66.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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