Nextpower (NASDAQ:NXT) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Piper Sandler

Nextpower (NASDAQ:NXT) was upgraded by analysts at Piper Sandler to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $137.00 price objective on shares of Nextpower in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $149.00 price target on shares of Nextpower in a research note on Friday, May 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $168.00 price objective on shares of Nextpower in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Glj Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $149.00 target price on shares of Nextpower in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on Nextpower from $142.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.96.

Nextpower Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NXT opened at $82.37 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $97.30 and a 200 day moving average of $112.47. Nextpower has a 52-week low of $64.30 and a 52-week high of $163.13.

Nextpower (NASDAQ:NXT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $935.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $935.39 million. Nextpower had a net margin of 16.36% and a return on equity of 26.29%. Equities analysts forecast that Nextpower will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Charles Boynton sold 4,500 shares of Nextpower stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.98, for a total value of $359,910.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 354,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,312,920. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Julia Blunden sold 3,692 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.10, for a total value of $310,497.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,742 shares in the company, valued at $230,602.20. This trade represents a 57.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 100,431 shares of company stock worth $10,039,748. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nextpower by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 437,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,436,000 after purchasing an additional 71,842 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new position in shares of Nextpower in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $223,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nextpower by 179.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Nextpower by 154.0% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 18,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,008,000 after acquiring an additional 11,239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Nextpower by 36.5% in the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 222,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,122,000 after purchasing an additional 59,573 shares in the last quarter. 67.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nextpower Company Profile

Nextpower, formerly known as Nextracker, is traded on NASDAQ under the symbol NXT and is a leading provider of advanced solar tracking solutions for utility-scale and distributed energy projects. The company specializes in the design, engineering and manufacturing of single-axis tracker systems that optimize the capture of solar energy by following the sun’s trajectory throughout the day. Nextpower’s core hardware offerings aim to enhance energy yield, reduce balance-of-system costs and simplify installation and maintenance for downstream solar developers and operators.

In addition to its tracker hardware, Nextpower provides a suite of digital software and analytics tools to maximize asset performance.