Nextpower (NASDAQ:NXT) Shares Climb 7.6% Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Nextpower shares rose 7.6% to about $89.25 after TD Cowen upgraded the stock to a Hold rating, with trading volume below its daily average.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: the stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $143.19 average price target, despite several recent target-price reductions.
• Nextpower exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.20 in EPS versus $1.05 expected, while revenue of $935.17 million was essentially in line with forecasts. Insiders sold about $10 million of shares during the last quarter under pre-arranged trading plans.

Nextpower Inc. (NASDAQ:NXT - Get Free Report) rose 7.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after TD Cowen upgraded the stock to a hold rating. The company traded as high as $88.89 and last traded at $89.2480. 998,258 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 2,386,691 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.97.

NXT has been the topic of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $168.00 target price on shares of Nextpower in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Nextpower in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Nextpower from $168.00 to $157.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Nextpower from a "hold" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $132.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Nextpower from $145.00 to $132.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Nextpower presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $143.19.

Insider Activity

In other Nextpower news, President Howard Wenger sold 11,176 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.78, for a total transaction of $1,171,021.28. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 419,868 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,993,769.04. This represents a 2.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel Shugar sold 67,636 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.07, for a total transaction of $6,971,242.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 871,131 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $89,787,472.17. The trade was a 7.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 100,431 shares of company stock worth $10,039,748. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nextpower

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NXT. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in Nextpower by 30.0% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 446 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Signature Equity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Nextpower by 76.4% in the first quarter. Signature Equity Partners LLC now owns 261 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in Nextpower by 2.0% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,963 shares of the company's stock worth $719,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Evexia Wealth LLC increased its position in Nextpower by 2.2% during the first quarter. Evexia Wealth LLC now owns 6,620 shares of the company's stock worth $738,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Nextpower by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,810 shares of the company's stock worth $459,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.41% of the company's stock.

Nextpower Trading Up 8.0%

The firm has a market cap of $13.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.16, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.94. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $87.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $108.58.

Nextpower (NASDAQ:NXT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.15. Nextpower had a net margin of 16.36% and a return on equity of 26.29%. The company had revenue of $935.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $935.39 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Nextpower Inc. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nextpower Company Profile

Nextracker Inc NASDAQ: NXT is a renewable energy technology company that designs and supplies intelligent solar tracking systems for utility-scale and large distributed-generation photovoltaic projects. Its systems help solar panels follow the sun throughout the day, improving energy production and supporting the development of large solar power facilities.

The company's product portfolio includes solar tracker hardware, structural components, controls, and software designed to optimize project performance.

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