Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on NextDecade (NASDAQ:NEXT)

Key Points

• NextDecade Corporation saw a 47% increase in call options trading volume on Monday, with investors purchasing 9,580 call options compared to an average of 6,523.
• The company's stock price rose slightly to $7.09, amid a mixed analyst outlook, with ratings ranging from "strong buy" to "sell" and an average price target of $9.00.
• Major shareholder Aerospace Co. Ltd. Hanwha recently acquired 551,819 shares of NextDecade, indicating confidence in the company's future prospects.

NextDecade Corporation (NASDAQ:NEXT - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Investors purchased 9,580 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 47% compared to the average volume of 6,523 call options.

NextDecade Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NEXT traded up $0.05 during trading on Monday, reaching $7.09. 1,498,417 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,589,292. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $9.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.66. The stock has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.07 and a beta of 1.78. NextDecade has a 12-month low of $4.93 and a 12-month high of $12.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77.

NextDecade (NASDAQ:NEXT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.23). As a group, research analysts anticipate that NextDecade will post -0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on NEXT shares. Cowen cut NextDecade from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded NextDecade to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Zacks Research upgraded NextDecade from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating and set a $8.00 target price (down previously from $11.00) on shares of NextDecade in a report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of NextDecade in a report on Saturday, September 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $9.00.

Insider Transactions at NextDecade

In other news, major shareholder Aerospace Co. Ltd. Hanwha acquired 551,819 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $6.99 per share, with a total value of $3,857,214.81. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 18,088,187 shares in the company, valued at $126,436,427.13. This trade represents a 3.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Edward Andrew Jr. Scoggins acquired 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $6.46 per share, for a total transaction of $96,900.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 200,070 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,292,452.20. This represents a 8.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 1,654,850 shares of company stock worth $11,611,592 in the last ninety days. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NextDecade

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NEXT. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in shares of NextDecade by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 32,861 shares of the company's stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 4,605 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of NextDecade by 68.1% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 243,366 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,876,000 after acquiring an additional 98,588 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in NextDecade by 50.8% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 131,544 shares of the company's stock worth $1,014,000 after buying an additional 44,338 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in NextDecade by 2,302.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,535 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 6,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in NextDecade by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 166,090 shares of the company's stock worth $1,292,000 after buying an additional 18,190 shares during the last quarter. 66.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NextDecade Company Profile

NextDecade Corp. is a development company.

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