NEXT (LON:NXT) Shares Break Above Fifty Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• NEXT shares broke above their 50-day moving average, reaching £151.88 and last trading at £151.55, up 0.1%.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with three Buy ratings and five Holds; the consensus rating is Hold with a £155.80 price target.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of GBX 364.30, with a 58.63% return on equity and 12.89% net margin. Insider Jeni Mundy also purchased 160 shares at £155.45 each.

Shares of NEXT plc (LON:NXT - Get Free Report) passed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of £149.29 and traded as high as £151.88. NEXT shares last traded at £151.55, with a volume of 41,320,590 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of NEXT from £132 to £155 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a £158 price target on shares of NEXT in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Peel Hunt reissued a "hold" rating and set a £139 price target on shares of NEXT in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and set a £140 price target on shares of NEXT in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of NEXT from £130.30 to £140.40 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, NEXT currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of £155.80.

NEXT Trading Up 0.1%

The stock has a market capitalization of £17.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of £149.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of £139.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 129.98, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.55.

NEXT (LON:NXT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 17th. The company reported GBX 364.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. NEXT had a return on equity of 58.63% and a net margin of 12.89%. On average, research analysts forecast that NEXT plc will post 660.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jeni Mundy purchased 160 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of £155.45 per share, for a total transaction of £24,872. 1.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

NEXT Company Profile

Founded as a tailoring business in Leeds in 1864 by Joseph Hepworth and Son, today, the company offers clothing, footwear, accessories, beauty and home products to our UK and International customers. NEXT has over 500 stores in the United Kingdom and Eire, and over 180 franchise branches across Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The company's main divisions are NEXT Online, NEXT Retail and NEXT Finance. We also launched Total Platform, an online, distribution, tech and logistics solution, in 2020.

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