Nextpower (NASDAQ:NXT) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Nextpower shares surged 15.4%, opening at $83.41 versus a prior close of $79.33 and later trading near $89.72.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with one Strong Buy, 23 Buy, and four Hold ratings; the average price target is $135.23 despite several recent target reductions.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.31 in EPS and $1.11 billion in revenue, while insiders have sold about $10.04 million worth of shares over the past 90 days.

Nextpower Inc. (NASDAQ:NXT - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Monday. The stock had previously closed at $79.33, but opened at $83.41. Nextpower shares last traded at $89.7150, with a volume of 359,454 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on NXT shares. Susquehanna cut their target price on Nextpower from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Nextpower in a research report on Thursday. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Nextpower from $147.00 to $146.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Nextpower from $156.00 to $116.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Nextpower from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nextpower has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $135.23.

Nextpower Trading Up 15.4%

The firm has a market cap of $13.90 billion, a PE ratio of 23.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.94. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $82.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.67.

Nextpower (NASDAQ:NXT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.21. Nextpower had a return on equity of 25.33% and a net margin of 15.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Nextpower Inc. will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Nextpower

In related news, Director Julia Blunden sold 3,723 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.08, for a total value of $327,921.84. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $566,706.72. This trade represents a 36.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Howard Wenger sold 11,176 shares of Nextpower stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the president directly owned 419,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,993,769.04. This trade represents a 2.59% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 100,431 shares of company stock valued at $10,039,748 over the last 90 days. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nextpower

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fundsmith LLP acquired a new stake in Nextpower during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $340,275,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Nextpower by 34.6% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,568,235 shares of the company's stock worth $189,051,000 after acquiring an additional 402,770 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Nextpower by 134.3% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,362,466 shares of the company's stock worth $164,488,000 after acquiring an additional 780,958 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Schweiz AG grew its stake in shares of Nextpower by 98.8% in the third quarter. Robeco Schweiz AG now owns 1,721,087 shares of the company's stock worth $134,124,000 after purchasing an additional 855,460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Nextpower by 96.6% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 840,966 shares of the company's stock worth $101,378,000 after purchasing an additional 413,142 shares in the last quarter. 67.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Nextpower

Nextracker Inc is a renewable energy technology company that designs, manufactures and supplies intelligent solar-tracking systems for utility-scale and large commercial solar power projects. Its systems adjust the position of solar panels throughout the day to help photovoltaic modules capture more sunlight and improve energy production.

The company's product portfolio includes single-axis solar trackers, structural components, foundations and related hardware, as well as software and controls designed to optimize tracker performance.

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