Nextpower (NASDAQ:NXT) Trading 7.5% Higher - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Nextpower shares jumped 7.5% mid-day to about $124.91 (intraday high $124.69) on Thursday, with 572,388 shares trading — roughly 71% below its average session volume; the prior close was $116.19.
• Street sentiment is a consensus “Moderate Buy” with a $117.47 price target; analysts include 1 Strong Buy, 19 Buys and 6 Holds, and notable targets range up to $138 (Needham) and $129 (Deutsche Bank).
• Nextpower posted an earnings beat (EPS $1.10 vs. $0.93 and revenue $909.35M vs. $812.43M) while insiders sold ~104,348 shares in the last three months amid sizeable institutional buys from firms like Norges Bank and Amundi (institutions own 67.41%).

Nextpower Inc. (NASDAQ:NXT - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 7.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $124.69 and last traded at $124.9120. 572,388 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 1,950,231 shares. The stock had previously closed at $116.19.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $129.00 target price on Nextpower and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Nextpower from $88.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Nextpower from $103.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Nextpower in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 target price 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 given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nextpower presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $117.47.

Nextpower Trading Up 9.9%

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $114.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $102.16. The company has a market cap of $18.95 billion, a PE ratio of 32.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.14 and a beta of 2.02.

Nextpower (NASDAQ:NXT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.17. Nextpower had a return on equity of 32.01% and a net margin of 16.43%.The company had revenue of $909.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $812.43 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Nextpower Inc. will post 3.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Daniel S. Shugar sold 59,456 shares of Nextpower stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.17, for a total value of $6,252,987.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 746,339 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $78,492,472.63. This trade represents a 7.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director William D. Watkins sold 5,000 shares of Nextpower stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.57, for a total value of $592,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,396,398.89. This trade represents a 29.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 104,348 shares of company stock valued at $10,876,525. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NXT. Norges Bank bought a new position in Nextpower in the 4th quarter worth about $170,918,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Nextpower in the 3rd quarter worth about $108,739,000. Amundi boosted its stake in Nextpower by 156.1% in the 3rd 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 stake in Nextpower by 938.0% in the 3rd 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. Finally, Electron Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Nextpower by 2,017.7% in the 3rd 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. Institutional investors own 67.41% of the company's stock.

About Nextpower

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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