NextDecade (NASDAQ:NEXT) Shares Gap Up - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Shares gapped up: NextDecade opened at $7.74 (prior close $7.34) and last traded around $8.1040 on volume of 1,086,471 shares, a move of roughly +6.5% intraday.
• Analyst consensus is "Hold": One analyst rates Buy, three Hold and one Sell, with a consensus price target of $6.67 and recent cuts from Morgan Stanley and TD Cowen.
• Weak earnings and leverage: NextDecade missed the quarter with EPS of ($0.88) vs. ($0.68) expected, has a high debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70 and a negative P/E (-6.73), with a market cap of about $2.07 billion.

NextDecade Corporation (NASDAQ:NEXT - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $7.34, but opened at $7.74. NextDecade shares last traded at $8.1040, with a volume of 1,086,471 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

NextDecade Stock Up 6.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.73 and a beta of 2.02. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $5.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.91.

NextDecade (NASDAQ:NEXT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.88) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.68) by ($0.20). On average, sell-side analysts forecast that NextDecade Corporation will post -0.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Pamela K.M. Beall bought 71,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $7.07 per share, for a total transaction of $505,505.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 71,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $505,505. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of NextDecade

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NEXT. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL raised its position in NextDecade by 262.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 912,589 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,196,000 after buying an additional 661,028 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in NextDecade by 1,112.2% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 681,904 shares of the company's stock worth $4,630,000 after acquiring an additional 625,652 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of NextDecade by 2,212.3% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 492,200 shares of the company's stock worth $4,386,000 after acquiring an additional 470,914 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of NextDecade during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,568,000. Finally, Moody Aldrich Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NextDecade in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,207,000. 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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