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

NextDecade Corporation (NASDAQ:NEXT) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Traders purchased 16,976 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 70% compared to the typical daily volume of 9,980 call options.

Insider Activity

In other NextDecade news, Director Pamela K.M. Beall acquired 71,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $7.07 per share, with a total value of $505,505.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 71,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $505,505. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of NextDecade by 22,782.4% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 3,873 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NextDecade during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Comerica Bank raised its holdings in shares of NextDecade by 88.0% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 4,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in NextDecade during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in NextDecade in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. 66.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on NEXT shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on NextDecade from $10.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of NextDecade from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of NextDecade in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Capital One Financial assumed coverage on shares of NextDecade in a research note on Friday, February 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $7.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.67.

NextDecade Trading Up 7.2%

Shares of NASDAQ NEXT traded up $0.53 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $7.87. The stock had a trading volume of 3,547,575 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,212,507. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70. NextDecade has a 1-year low of $4.75 and a 1-year high of $12.12. The company has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.72 and a beta of 2.02. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $5.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.91.

NextDecade (NASDAQ:NEXT) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.88) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.68) by ($0.20). On average, analysts predict that NextDecade will post -0.61 earnings per share for the current year.

NextDecade Company Profile

NextDecade Corporation is a Houston‐based liquefied natural gas (LNG) and decarbonization company focused on the development, engineering, construction and operation of large‐scale LNG export facilities. The company’s core mission is to deliver cleaner energy solutions to global customers while integrating carbon capture and sequestration technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. NextDecade’s projects are designed to leverage abundant U.S. natural gas supplies to meet growing worldwide demand for low‐carbon fuel.

NextDecade’s flagship project, Rio Grande LNG, is located at the Port of Brownsville in southern Texas.