NextDecade (NASDAQ:NEXT) Shares Up 6.1% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• NextDecade Corporation's shares rose by 6.1% during trading, reaching a high of $6.78 before closing at $6.49, despite a slight decline in trading volume.
• Multiple analysts have issued mixed ratings on the stock, with Zacks upgrading it to "hold," Cowen downgrading it to "hold," and one analyst rating it as "strong buy" while maintaining an average consensus target price of $9.00.
• Insider trading activity includes CEO Matthew K. Schatzman purchasing 281,500 shares at an average price of $7.14, indicating confidence in the company from its leadership.

Shares of NextDecade Corporation (NASDAQ:NEXT - Get Free Report) shot up 6.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $6.78 and last traded at $6.49. 2,686,001 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 1% from the average session volume of 2,702,730 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.11.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded NextDecade from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Cowen downgraded NextDecade from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded NextDecade to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $10.00 price objective (down previously from $15.00) on shares of NextDecade in a report on Friday, September 12th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating and issued a $8.00 price objective (down previously from $11.00) on shares of NextDecade in a report on Monday, September 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $9.00.

NextDecade Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.53. The company has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.94 and a beta of 1.78.

NextDecade (NASDAQ:NEXT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.23). On average, sell-side analysts expect that NextDecade Corporation will post -0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NextDecade news, CEO Matthew K. Schatzman acquired 281,500 shares of NextDecade stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $7.14 per share, with a total value of $2,009,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 5,246,316 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,458,696.24. The trade was a 5.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Aerospace Co. Ltd. Hanwha acquired 449,510 shares of NextDecade stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $7.02 per share, with a total value of $3,155,560.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 18,537,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at $130,134,632.94. This trade represents a 2.49% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 1,654,850 shares of company stock valued at $11,611,592 over the last ninety days. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NEXT. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in NextDecade by 137.2% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,261 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,886 shares during the period. Comerica Bank lifted its position in NextDecade by 88.0% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 4,060 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in NextDecade by 102.2% in the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,961 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,002 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in NextDecade in the second quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in NextDecade by 21,395.5% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,729 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 4,707 shares during the period. 66.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About NextDecade

NextDecade Corp. is a development company.

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